God of Dreaas, the 5th War
by greysongarr
Summary: In the previous war, the Grail was cleansed of Angra Mainyu. In the 5th War, it was possible for a single wish to come true. 14 Servants vie for that Wish alongside their Masters. A Ruler watches over the proceedings alongside the one known as Blackwing. Let the 5th War begin, let a wish be granted at long last.
1. Prologue

_Discla__imer: I own nothing beyond Dreaas and its denizens. Blackwing belongs to Lupine Horror, the Fate series belongs to Kinoko Nasu, while Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling._

_AN: Well, It's back, I hope to do as well as the 4th war, if not better, I will not be including any Servant stats within this chapter as it is only a prologue. Since I did not cover what had occurred between the 4th and 5th wars, I shall sum it up quickly and go into details within later chapters/parts._

* * *

_Two months before 5th War-_

The brown haired girl smiled at the circle in front of her, holding onto the sketchbook of her drawings as she recited the chant one last time. Calmly she set the book aside, and said the chant, expecting the light and slight noise of her uncle coming to check on her. Just above the command seals still remaining from the last war a new set appeared, what appeared to be a rabbit half on fire and half-frozen was what greeted her. Blinking somewhat at the strange set of command seals she looked back at her Servant and immediately found the reason for the rabbit.

A girl appearing around the age of eight met her gaze, one blue eye and one red eye meeting her gaze from under half-white, half-black hair. The Servant wore a blue hoodie with a large cowl, blue pants and red boots, holding a rabbit puppet in each hand. The right puppet was white with red eyes, a cheerful smile in place and giggling emanating from it, the left puppet was black with blue eyes, a frown and tears etched onto its features while sobbing was heard.

The Servant the girl summoned did not speak, the right rabbit speaking instead. "Hello, I'm Lea, that's Caster and that's Ael." Somewhat unsure of how to respond to that she saw the other puppet look at the white and talk with sobbing mixed in. "Lea, it's not our place to talk for Caster in introductions, she might get angry." The other rabbit somehow shivered at the words and quickly apologized to the apathetic-looking girl.

Kariya walked in mere moments after the exchange took place, looking between Sakura, both sets of command seals on her wrist glowing red, and the small girl with the two rabbits. With a sigh he looked back to Sakura and asked, "I guess I have to book us a stay at Fuyuki in several months," a sigh, "And I thought we put that place behind us."

Sakura looked somewhat sheepish at his words until he pat her on the head. "No worries, I don't have anything urgent coming up, and if worse comes to worse you can stay at the Emiyas'." Sakura beamed up at Kariya, hugged him and went back to her unmoving Servant. Without a word Caster went into Astral State, her Master looking with a saddened look before leaving the room to get ready for the trip to Fuyuki.

* * *

1 month before the 5th War-

The Wizard Marshal was wandering the halls of the Clock Tower, a violet-haired woman walking slightly behind him. While she had an otherworldly appearance, it was not noticed due to the scrambling to get out of the way of the known prankster. It was only when they arrived at their destination and its occupant did anyone actually note anything about her.

A silver shirt, grey skirt, black shoes and white gloves, two overlapping 5-pointed stars on the back of gloves made up her wardrobe, a simple purple half-mask hiding her upper face from view. The strangest thing about her was the pure-black dodecahedron at her waist, it held an air of mystery comparable to Noble Phantasms to one who had seen an object of that classification.

The two entered the office of the Vice-Director, finding the woman with hands stippled at her desk, a set of red markings in the shape of a sword on her right hand. She looked at the two that entered, narrowing eyes flickering to the right hand of the User of the Second Magic, noting the markings there in the shape of three muskets. The Dead Apostle Ancestor and Dead Apostle-slayer simply stared at one another, neither choosing to speak for different reasons.

After a long period of silence, the Vice-Director spoke up, her voice tinged with cold, "Zeltrech, can you please explain to me why I have a set of Command Seals." While phrased as a question, the sentence was more of a statement or order, though many magi would leap to answer just to avoid her wrath.

Zeltrech opened his mouth to reply, "I have no idea." At her somewhat incredulous stare, he showed his own set of command seals, "I shouldn't be able to get Command Seals, yet here they are." The Vice-Director looked over to the woman who was now looked at the various objects scattered around the room with childish wonder.

"I assume then that she is your Servant." A nod answered her question and she let out a slight sigh, head resting in her hand. Zeltrech and his Servant left shortly after, heading off to just let time pass in preparation of the War. The Vice-Director got up and grabbed a simple tome, opening it to a specific page before reading it quickly.

* * *

_2 weeks before the 5th war-_

The red-haired teen walked down the dirt path towards a small town, fire illuminating the night with screams of pain echoing out. The boy wore a simple white kimono with a black obi, white boots, and a katana sheathed at his left hip. He casually strode into the burning town, past the Executors that had assaulted this place and into the burning streets filled with the undead.

A ghoul lunged from a rooftop, the sheathed katana meeting it as the creature fell into range. Blood splattered across the cobblestone, the ghoul's body dropping beside the teen, its head no longer existent. Golden eyes watched emotionlessly as the Dead converged on him, ready to begin the slaughter.

Three came at him from the front, a single horizontal swipe saw them flying back in two pieces each. The swipe turned into a swing as the boy continued around to impact another ghoul in the head, the entirety of the appendage exploding into blood and bone. Another ghoul attempted to harm him, missing and receiving a blow to the waist severing the legs from the main body.

A ghoul tried to attack from behind, the once female human unexpectedly hit air, then all was black for the undead creature, its entire body making a crater. The boy stood up from his crouch, hand still grasping the once-human's head, listening to the growling surrounding him. Letting go of the head he grabbed one of the legs and utilized the deceased body as a make-shift projectile, sending the object to collide into a pack of the dead.

The boy followed directly behind the missile, moving at a speed beyond what many humans could comprehend. The teen walked past them, putting the sheathed blade back at his waist, blood staining where there was once bodies. It continued in a similar fashion until the creator of the dead came into view.

The boy did not bother listening to former-human's monologue, unsheathing his sword and doing a quick swipe in the general direction of his target before resheathing it. He once more ignored the vampire, watching in disinterest as it stopped suddenly, it and the building behind it cut in half, the top portions of both sliding to the ground. The vampire attempted to stop its destruction, almost missing the boy now standing behind it and the words he spoke. "You're weak, I hate fighting weak opponents. You're foolish, I hate fools." The vampire's head then now longer existed to hear anymore, along with the rest of its body.

The boy strode out of the flaming town, past the Executors, some of which were whispering about something, likely younger ones. He didn't much care to stop when they called for him to halt, heading back the way he had come, he had to return to Emiya-sama and Nee-sama.

* * *

_12 days before start of 5th War-_

The seals glowed brightly as they were seared into her hand, a simple octagonal shield with a circle in the middle being the shape, the light dying to reveal her Servant. Blue plate made up the majority of his form, a red pauldron on the left shoulder and a violet on the right shoulder were the only different metals, a white cloak hanging from the left shoulder covering the upper part of the arm. Green eyes opened from under blonde hair tied in a short ponytail, an air of melancholy surrounding the figure and infecting his gaze as he looked up at her.

His sword was planted in front of him, gauntlets placed upon the black hilt as he waited for the smoke to fully clear, then asking his question the moment it left. "I ask of you… are you my Master, young noble?" A blink of her eyes was the only betrayal of confusion, a curtsy made to the Servant before she addressed him in voice, "I am your Master, Luviagelita Edelfelt, might I ask what class you are along with what you hope to achieve?"

"I am Rider, this is my atonement for the sins I committed upon the King of Outcasts." While the questions were answered, the one she wished had been answered was spoken cryptically and with a tone wishing not to be spoken about again. The noble quietly left the room, staying only for a moment to say one last thing to her Servant, "We leave for Fuyuki tomorrow, you may do whatever you wish until then."

* * *

5 days before start of 5th War-

The Magi was cursing, the smoke revealing nothing after the ritual, resources and a Catalyst gone and wasted. There was an unnatural chill creeping up his spine, going unnoticed in the Magi's anger, along with the seemingly floating grey cloak. A single sword that came from the right sleeve went unnoticed, white with a pommel and black symbol upon the blade reminiscent of the Nobodies of Kingdom Hearts, the tip rounded rather than pointed. With a flash the Magi lost his head along with life, the sword disappearing along with the cloaked being. An Assassin and Executioner was loose to do as it wished.

* * *

_3 days before the 5th war-_

The teen stood in front of the school named Homurahara Gakuen, patiently waiting for his Nee-sama to exit the building. He garnered strange looks from individuals that roamed the streets, both for his age and dress, and from the katana sheathed at his waist until they recognized who he was and quickly averted their gaze. After two hours of waiting he decided to finally go inside the yard, stoic gaze still in place.

He waited moments longer until the bell rang, students exiting the building and passing the teen. They held hushed conversations regarding the boy, some knowing of the boy while others merely noted his being there and left him out of their talks. A white-haired girl skipped up to the teen, now sporting a small smile at her appearance. She had her hands behind her back and a smile in place as she regarded the boy. "Onii-chan! You're back!"

The boy bowed slightly, "Hello Nee-sama. Emiya-sama is waiting for us at the household." The small girl fumed slightly at his addressing. "Onii-chan, I'm your little sister, just call me Nee-chan or Ilya-nee." She ended the short rant with a pout, which did not deter the smile in the slightest. The two walked out of the yard, unaware of the girl that had taken notice of them.

They walked, one in silence while the other chatted about their day, the boy stopping with his stoic expression in place. Ilya stopped behind her brother, her eyes closed and smile still in place, not worried at the group of men that decided to block their path. "… You're not a part of the Yakuza." The boy spoke in a cold tone, unlike that when he was speaking with Ilya, making the men flinch slightly.

The katana and sheathe were drawn, Ilya giving a small giggle. "Otouto, kill them would you please." She spoke with lightheartedness that did not disguise her words' meaning, nor did it reach her eyes. The boy gave his reply to the girl, "Of course, Onee-sama."

He was in the middle of the group of four before they could draw a weapon, the sheathed weapon making contact with one's head and splattering it across the ground and another thug. One drew his gun as the bloodied one sported a hole through his stomach courtesy of the boy, the last thug trying to run away. Eight shots were fired, two impacted the street, three flew past his body, one flew backwards and embedded itself in the fleeing one's leg, tripping the fool, the other two aimed at Ilya were deflected by metal wires that disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

The man lost his arm to the boy, followed swiftly by his head meeting the ground from the grip of the teen, a crater surrounding his corpse. The one who tried fleeing found himself turned over looking at the shadowed form of his assailant, gold eyes staring down at him in stoic silence. "I hate cowards." The man saw no more, the boy walking away from the decapitated corpse, Ilya skipping after him with a slight giggle.

"Are you ready to summon your Servant, Onii-chan?" Ilya's question did not surprise the red-haired teen, merely eliciting a chuckle from him. "Don't ignore me Onii-chan!" The chuckle turned into a small laugh as they entered their home, greeted by their father at the table reading a newspaper, another man who was speaking to their father, and a silver-skinned maid serving simple beverages to the two.

The teen bowed when the two men focused their attention on the arrivals, while Ilya sat next to Kiritsugu with a smile. "Emiya-sama, Velvet-sama." He then went to the kitchen, katana laid on the counter, and started to prepare a light meal for their guest and family. The two adults continued their prior conversation with a nod of acknowledgement, talking about the war slated to happen within the next few days.

"I plan to enter the War again." That stopped all conversation, and two looks of shock looked at the Magus. "Waver-san, not that I doubt your competence, but you barely survived the prior war." The lecturer retrieved something from a box next to him, a simple scrap of cloth. "It's time to fight once more alongside my King."

A brief period of silence, then Kiritsugu spoke again after Shirou set the table with his meal, "I can't stop you from joining Waver. Just know that Ilya and Shirou will be participating, and remembering my luck from the last war, if it transfers, you and Iskandar will be in for hell." Waver gave a short chuckle, joined by his old friend and enemy during the 4th War, they ate in silence until it was nearing night and Waver along with the maid left.

Shirou cleaned up the table while Ilya went off to bed, having a short conversation with his father while doing so. "Will it hurt you to fight one of your mentors?" Shirou immediately replied to the question with his normal tone of voice. "No. My duty is to protect you and Ilya-sama, Emiya-sama. I am your servant, Ilya's bodyguard, her weapon. My duty is simply to serve until my life is gone."

A sigh signaled Kiritsugu's response, followed by actual words with a sad tone. "I truly wish you stopped seeing yourself as such Shirou. You are not my servant, you are my son. You are not Ilya's bodyguard, you're her brother." Shirou merely continued to work, not responding to the last words. "Sakura came over while you were gone, she had a sketch she wanted to show you." The teen looked up and blinked several times, not knowing how to react.

The Ancestor Killer finished his cleaning before once more sitting at the table, directly across from his father. "I assume she is going to be in the ritual as well." A nod from Kiritsugu and a sigh from Shirou, "Well, good things never last, she and Caren are the only ones outside you and Onee-sama that I hesitate to fight."

Shirou got up and collected his sword, "I must take my leave Emiya-sama. It is time to prepare for a short war." With those words he left to his room, the dojo, and performed a set of exercises with the sheathed blade. Once he finished he got into a kneeling position and closed his eyes, lightly sleeping until the next morning.

* * *

2 days before start of 5th War-

The white-haired girl looked with curiosity at the creature standing just outside of her home and workplace. It was a strange being looking much like a demon should be envisioned, yet her body did not hurt while near it. It was strange, yet it held no malice or anger, exuding a small of loneliness around it. In its hands it held an arm, torn off from its original place and still leaking life liquid to the ground.

She took one look at the Servant, its shivering form contrasting greatly to its form and suspected origins, and beckoned it forward. The being slowly walked up to her, creeping forward several inches with each step, bolting into her arms and hugging her firmly. If it was capable of the action, it would have cried several tears, as it was the priestess merely comforted the stray Servant.

The seals on the arm transferred over to Caren's own, the child-like being looking up at the sudden comfort its mind felt, Caren merely holding her finger up to her lips, a small smile in place. "Our little secret."

* * *

1 day before start of 5th War-

It was time to summon his king and friend once more, laying out the same fabric used to summon him the first time. The chant was said with a tint of nostalgia and a smile, the light blinding for a moment and dust being raised. The Master walked up to his Servant, his smile answered by another, "Welcome back Rider. Shall we go to conquer the world, my King?"

The Conqueror-King gazed upon his Master, a look of recognition in his eyes. His voice was the same as it was ten years ago, exuberant and joyful, "It's been a long time Waver." The Servant became a little annoyed when Waver kneeled, and immediately got back up, chuckling at the same time as Waver when he noticed the grin still in place. "I do believe it is time to go and conquer this War, shall we go, my friend." The Lecturer-Magus took the offered hand, and so once more became a part of the Holy Grail War.

* * *

_Hours before the summoning of the last servant-_

The red-clad Archer and blue-clad Lancer were exchanging blows with one another, the former forming and shattering countless weapons upon the latter's red demon spear. Their Masters were fighting one another within the confines of the building, the Archer's barely able to keep ahead of the Lancer's through the knowledge of the building's layout. The servants stopped suddenly when the presence of the boy known as Shirou appeared, right hand upon the katana's handle and eyes half-lidded, a bone sword slightly lower than the katana also at his waist.

The Masters arrived right as the Lancer charged the boy, both pairs of eyes widening at the realization of who was fighting. "Lancer stop!" The Hound of Ulster did not hear his Master's words and the fear tinting them, crossing the distance within the blink of an eye. Time seemed to slow as the spear was thrust forward, the Lancer's eyes widening as Shirou dodged the cursed spear, letting out a small gasp as the sheathed blade hit him in the chest. A kick then came right behind the blade, sending the Lancer skidding back to where Archer was.

"Can you provide me with a challenge?" The Archer narrowed his eyes, charging alongside his enemy to kill the bystander, not heeding the words of his Master as well. The spear Gáe Bolg was parried to the side, Kanshou and Bakuya clashed with the sheathed blade briefly before a single slash broke the two and sent Archer back a few meters. Another pair formed in the Unnamed Hero's hands, causing Shirou to narrow his eyes slightly at the sight, calmly deflecting the strikes from both Servants.

Shirou retreated under the assault of the two Servants, disappearing and reappearing back several yards with one hand gripping the sheathe and the other gripping the handle of the katana. The sword was released from its sheathe by a margin, the Lancer and Archer both holding their weapons defensively, while both Masters ducked down, having witnessed or heard of the event once before. With the ring of steel on the sheathe and breaking of metal the sword was drawn and broken, shattering into pieces of metal.

Nothing happened for a moment, the Lancer shifted away from his defense and was rewarded for it. Where the Archer skidded back from the middle of the field to kneel beside the Masters, both weapons broken upon impact from the invisible force, the Lancer went flying into the building and out the other side and kept flying through building after building. The building shifted, then collapsed upon the line the slash made by the Ancestor Killer.

The Lancer's Master heard her Servant over the mental link, concerned but otherwise relieved that he was still talking, _'God damn that hurt. I really was not expecting a blow that strong.'_ The Irishman fell silent as he made his way back, while the Archer and his Master stared somewhat dumbstruck at the visage of the red-haired teen, bored look in place as a simple katana formed in his hands similar to Archer's swords. The katana was sheathed and the boy left with a sigh. "I hope there is someone in this War that can hold a candle to an Ancestor, even the idiot Ancestor knew better than to lower his guard against a magus."

And with that Shirou was gone, the two Masters getting up and parting ways without a single glance at one another, very aware of how close to death both had come. They both stopped as the same thought came to mind, _'What kind of Hero did/will he summon?'_ They both noticeably shuddered at the very thought of what that entailed, they made plans not to win now, but to simply survive.

* * *

_1 minute before start of War-_

The summoning circles were prepared, mercury in place of blood, their practioners waiting patiently, their father standing behind them with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. They spoke the chant, one voice full of childish mirth, the other filled with cold apathy. A flash of white light and bits of smoke invaded their vision, obscuring their Servants from view. Red markings appeared on their hands, a sword vaguely in the shape of a katana crossing over the unused middle seal from the last war, one line being the blade, another the back, and the finally one being the handle and guard. Ilya's was much more elaborate, a crown with lines of 'light' above it and an expanse of 'shadow' below it.

A child's giggle greeted them first, then a young boy's body leapt out of the smoke in front of the girl. Unprepared, she was tackled to the ground with a hug, while the other three occupants merely stared at the scene. The Servant was up moments before the girl opened her mouth, shadowed face grinning wildly at the girl with a Cheshire-like smile. The girl got up with a huff of slight annoyance, looking over the Servant she summoned.

The first thought was white, almost everything noticeable about the Servant was white, a hoodie, pants, boots and gloves all the absence of color. A hint of yellow lay within the shadowed confines of the hood, though whether those were eyes or hair remained to be seen. The only none-white object the child held was a black sheathe holding a katana with black tape around the handle. Only Shirou noted something about the boy's shadow, it did not fully match the boy's description with the single light.

He turned to face his Servant, almost completely his clone if it weren't for the Servant having his katana on the right hip and green eyes boring into his golden ones. A simple white kimono with brown triangles at the end of the sleeves and the bottom of the cloth, a blue sash around his waist into which a katana was sheathed, a sword-shaped bone slung to rest at the left shoulder, and two gold earrings on the right ear. The Servant held the exact same expression as Shirou did, making the resemblance all the more uncanny.

The child introduced himself first, speaking with child-like glee and a fast pace. "Hi, I'm Berserker, are you my master?" Ilya nodded her head slowly, still trying to comprehend her servant in relatable terms and failing. The child turned around, the smile growing slightly wider on spotting the other Servant, disappearing and appearing clutching the unnamed Servant, nuzzling the man as he did. "Nii-san! Saber Nii-san! You're here! Can we play in a bit, I want to play! Can we play, can we?" The last part was directed at both Masters, one dumbstruck at her Servant, while the other merely shrugged.

Kiritsugu blinked several times before sighing and leaving with a slightly wistful smile, remembering his short experiences ten years ago with what he assumed was the same being. He immediately frowned upon remembering the ability of many amongst the 4th War, if summoning the Child-King meant that a similar or worse war was on the way… It was best not to dwell upon such things, hopefully his children would not be amongst the dead of this war, even if the amount of deaths in the previous were below two dozen, collaterals included.

* * *

_AN: Here is the summary of events,_

_-Shirou is raised alongside Ilya by Kiritsugu. Shirou does not want to become a hero, being influenced by his time in the 4th war to merely wish to fight. He trains secretly until Kiritsugu takes notice and helps him, alongside several others such as Waver. _

_-He has killed three Ancestors, all pitiful and merely placeholders, and has a thirst for bettering himself and fighting strong foes. At his current level he is just slightly under Lorelei if he were to go all out, though he prefers to toy around with stronger opponents. During the last two years he has taken to traveling and killing Dead Apostles and Rouge Magi. _

_-Shirou did not go through School due to him being even more messed up than regular from being a participant in the 4th war, instead being home-schooled by Kiritsugu._

_-Sakura is raised by Kariya away from Zouken, traveling with him throughout Japan and occasionally outside of it. She took up drawing and painting much like her Servant during the 4th war and remained good friends with Shirou after the war up to the beginning of the 5th war. She has self-taught herself the basic Magecraft techniques, and been instructed in reinforcement by Shirou when they are both in Fuyuki._

_-Caren Hortensia is the Mediator of the 5th war alongside being a Master after her Father and Grandfather passed away. She is friends with Shirou and Sakura, who helped her get settled within Fuyuki during her first few weeks there._

_-Due to Remnant taking the Curses of Angra Mainyu, Kiritsugu is not cursed and is alive to the 5th war._

_There will be 15 Servants within this War, two of every base class, along with a single Ruler. Note that I'm not limiting myself to only Fate/stay night and my children for this one, there will be Servants from other Fate works involved._

* * *

**_Edit: As of 2/19/15 I have included several of the non-canon summonings to the prologue, If they are canon of any Fate work, I will not be going over them._**

**_Edit: As of 8/17/15 I have included one last non-canon summoning to the prologue._**


	2. Part 1

_AN: It has been a while since I last updated this story… I have no excuses at all, only facts about how I function. I work on this during school, I have no time at home to work since I'm addicted to video games and play with my Father for several hours every day I get home. Also I did this story piece by piece without a regard to a timeline or how events lead to one another… just like what happened with the prior story. Also I beta on occasion and write fight scenes for two other people, which I prioritize before my own work. _

_Disregarding the above, I will say a few things about what will go on with the story's progress. Firstly, there will be two sections of updates, one being the battles and 'main' plotline that will likely come out a week each from this posting, and the other being sometime after the entire story is posted that is interactions between characters that will be posted all at once when they are done. If any of you who read this wishes for an interaction to take place, please ask via a PM and I'll see if I can give it justice, if not I will say so. Also I will post a chapter letting everyone following at the time know of the changes, at the end of two days that chapter will be deleted, regardless of any reviews that it may have, I put this as both warning and notice._

_Second, as I believe I said sometime during the 4th War's writing, I will not be writing any battle that is close to similar to a canon fight of either Fate/Zero or Fate/Stay Night, this is mainly because I would not put upon other readers something that I hate with a passion. These fights will occur, just like they did in the 4th War but they will only be mentioned either in passing or as a part of an interaction._

_Third… Do not expect to understand the Second Lancer… Even I can barely understand how he works and acts… _

_Fourth, Since there are fourteen Servants actively fighting, each class having two, the Servant that was summoned first would be called the First [Insert Class Name] and similar with the second._

_And finally Fifth, Do not expect much of the Second Caster and Second Assassin, referring to the second point I wrote, most battles involving them will be the same thing happening over and over again due to her and him not leaving the Temple grounds… So expect a few mentions of failed assaults being said in interactions to come, and a battle involving those two only at the end and beginning._

_With that said, please enjoy… tell what parts you enjoy and don't, don't hesitate tell me what needs to be fixed in any way, shape or form. That is my only request to you all._

_Disclaimer: The Fate series belongs to Kinoko Nasu, while Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, the character Blackwing belongs to Lupine Horror, the servants 2nd Saber, 2nd Berserker, 1st Caster, 1st Archer, 2nd Lancer, 1st Assassin, 1st Rider and Ruler and any other characters from Dreaas belong to me._

_Two hours after the start of the 5th war-_

The King of Knights and her Master were slightly confused at the appearance of the Servant they assumed was Lancer, though neither showed their confusion outwardly and instead prepared to fight. It did not seem the Heroic Spirit was human, standing at a height of 2'4" with grey skin, a lack of eyes, and wielding a hammer over three times as long as itself, though it appeared to struggle with lifting the 'hammer'. Its face looked as though it was sculpted, with random cracks across its skin and teeth seemingly painted where a mouth should be. Around its neck was three necklaces, one with a circle surrounded by four triangles colored gold, another with an eye with a slit pupil colored black, and the last a square with two small circles on each side with a pentagon resting in the center of the square colored purple.

The Knight-King gripped her invisible sword, and at the order of her master rushed the Servant, momentarily becoming shocked when the large rectangular piece of concrete smashed into her side and sent her into a building. The Master frowned slightly, even more confused by the jump in Strength the opposing Servant had, D-rank being what the clairvoyance had said just moments earlier. The Saber got up from her place amongst the rubble, much more wary at the Lancer and prepared to not be taken by surprise again.

The Demon-Construct tilted its head at the opposing Servant, then started to drag its 'hammer' along the ground, seemingly disinterested in fighting. Once more the Saber charged, ducking under the swing sent at her and thrusting the sword forward. The metal pole was pushing the weapon away for a fraction of a second before she saw it happen, the piece of rock following behind coming from its upper right. The Saber side-stepped the blow, a crater forming 8 meters wide from the impact, knocking both off-guard for mere moments.

The Saber caught herself, watching with a deadpan look as the Lancer rolled down into the center of the crater, landing in a sitting position and merely looking out at something with its eyeless gaze. It got up and retrieved its weapon and continued along its course, once more ignoring both the Saber and her Master. The King grit her teeth and charged once more, clashing against the metal of the 'hammer' and looking straight into the 'eyes' of the Lancer. "Am I not worth your time, Lancer?"

The child-like being made no response, which caused the Saber to feel slightly more anger at the being in front of her at its seemingly apathy concerning her. She pushed the handle back, sending several strikes at the Demon-Construct, each blow being deflected by the handle of its weapon, with the Knight-King growing frustrated with each strike that failed to land, the emotion not impairing her ability to fight.

Without warning the hand of the Child-Lancer lashed out, gripping the invisible sword mere inches from its head. The surprise of both Master and Servant was noticeable among normally stoic faces, the being's other hand gripping the 'hammer' near its head. With speed and strength belying its form, the Lancer shoved his weapon into the Saber, a gasp leaving her lips as she rocketed backwards into another building.

The Lancer was about to continue its march, standing completely still for a moment before actually turning to the rising Knight. A crater marked where the Child Demon once was, a clash of metal on stone and the skidding of feet followed by more clashing. The swordswoman was battered by the 'hammer', blow after blow hitting invisible metal, a sudden break in the offensive gave the Saber a much needed reprieve from the strange Servant.

She calmed and centered herself while the Child-Servant merely stood waiting with a tilted head, grimacing at the marks marring her armor before holding the sword pointing behind her, the metal level with the ground. "Strike Air." The two words were calmly declared before she was rocketed forward at the front of a hurricane wind, parts of the ground and structures behind her ripped off and shredded within the wind. Hammer meet golden sword, the stone breaking upon impact against the Fae-blessed blade, the pole still wielded and with even greater speed raining blow after blow against the armor of the Saber.

Every fourth blow would be blocked, shearing off a piece of the metal, each piece sent flying increasing the speed at which the Lancer moved. Soon the metal reached the size of a javelin, then a sword, then a stick before finally the Lancer leapt back. The Saber was gasping for breath, armor dented at near impossible levels while a trickle of blood was dripping down from the corner of her mouth, staggering backwards for a moment before rushing forward with the holy blade, intent on impaling the Lancer.

She did not expect the ground to suddenly crater, nor a force twice as strong as the 'hammer' to slam into her. In a split second she saw the Lancer, a new 'hammer' in hand floating above the ground, weapon raised to impact her. She rolled just barely out of the way as the Child-Demon hit the ground, sending her rolling away from the force of the impact. Her vision was blurry, roughly making out the frame of the Child-Lancer, head tilted slightly before the being left.

Invisible Air recollected around the Holy Sword of Victory, both dissipating as she raised herself from the ground with clearing vision. She came face-to-face with her Master, stoic look in place while looking at the slowly disappearing figure of Lancer. "That is one Servant to be wary of, especially since his abilities didn't match up to what the clairvoyance was reading." Her Master left shortly after that, the Saber following behind with a slight limp, making mental note of anything that would have counted as a Noble Phantasm or Skill, the only thing coming to mind being the disproportionate stats and abilities.

_It was alone. It didn't like being alone. It wanted to play. There was no one for it to play with. It wandered, and wandered. It saw many things, but the loneliness was overbearing._

_The doll-like creature huddled in a ball, shaking uncontrollably as it processed those three things. It could not cry, it could not weep, it could not make a single sound. It was an existence it could not understand, the only thing it knew for sure was a simple thing. _

_It was loved by someone. Someone had given him life through some means it knew not. Just once, it wanted to know and feel the love its creator held for it._

_One day after start of the 5th war-_

The second Saber walked alongside his Master and Sister, the Berserker having decided to stay behind and protect their home and base. Without warning the Master of Saber pulled Ilya away from her spot, the Saber blocking a sword meant to behead her. What greeted the siblings' gaze when they turned to sword's owner was unexpected, a grey cloak seemingly floating in the air partially transparent.

From its left sleeve was a black sword, similar in design to the one it once held aside from the symbols upon the blade and pommel. A white Heartless symbol standing out on the metal while the same symbol was used as the pommel.

It made no noise, merely staying where it was with blade against the sheathed katana, the white blade came from the other sleeve and swung at the other Hero's neck. The first blade was pushed away, the katana following it shortly before moving to cross the path of the white sword. A hollow ring echoed out, before the white sword was also pushed away along with the being.

The Executioner stayed where it was tossed, its swords at the sides, the cloaked face looked up slightly, bright green flashing for a moment before disappearing. Once more it charged forward, swords aiming to lop off one of the Saber's limbs, the man dodging both strikes before countering with one of his own. The white sword flashed out, metal scraping against the sheathed katana, while the black blade followed after.

The white blade and katana were sent back from one another, the second executioner's sword missing from the katana moving into its strike, both swords knocked away from their owners. The Saber did not react when the Assassin swung its white blade, a clang echoing out moments before it would have been embedded in his flesh. Directly between the two was the second Berserker, Cheshire grin in place with the maddening giggle seeping through, the pure white katana blocking the white sword.

The boy pushed the ghost back, the giggling not ceasing even as he turned to the Saber, who reclaimed his sword and kicked the black blade back to its owner. "Need some help, Onii-san?" He kept up his slight laughter even when the man nodded his head slightly, a red eye making its appearance in the Child King's shadow for a moment before disappearing.

Fighting resumed quickly, the Assassin charging forward, not reacting when the Berserker flipped backwards, his foot connecting with his shadow and sending a black hiltless claymore into the air, the Saber readying himself for the fight again. The airborne blade was caught by the boy, its weight non-existent despite its size, the Berserker meeting the Assassin's charge with his own. White and black blurs flew through the air, alongside the echo of clashing metal and an insane child's giggling.

The Berserker and Assassin continued for a moment until the swordsman came from above, katana aimed to tear the ghost in half. The being leapt back, the claymore being let go of by the Berserker, an orb of white light held in his now-free hand. The katana and sheathe were put back at the waist by the Saber, the claymore plucked from the air before it could impale the ground and thrown barely a moment after being held.

The Executioner of Ghost Hill dodged the blade and directly into the magic-conjured light thrown by the Berserker, sending the ghost 'tumbling' back until both swords stopped the movement. Both it and the four humans looked at the damage the thrown blade caused, a house in ruins directly next to the Assassin with tendrils of shadow dissipating upwards. Without warning the being retracted the blades, heading off into an alleyway on the other side of it and disappearing from sight, the other two Servants relaxing their guards somewhat and heading over to their Masters, both in good spirits for what just occurred. Both Servants faded into their Astral State, content now of their relative safety and watching the two siblings walk back home, a 'conversation' between the two starting.

_He hated it._

_Blood on the wood below him, the bodies around him, the red sky above and the crystal trees dropping their leaves._

_He hated it._

_The cheers of the crowd, the sobbing of the accused, the silence of wildlife._

_He hated it._

_His wife upon the stage, kneeled in front of him with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll wait for you my beloved."_

_He loved her._

_His hated blades sent her head rolling to the ground, he stood up while the cheers continued. Those same cheers became screams with the man leaping into the crowd and starting a massacre that was not stopped._

_He hated it._

_He was covered in blood, trembling in fear and disgust at himself. He dropped to his knees by his beloved, he could hear the screams of panic from those he killed as they found themselves still in the living realm, he could see their forms as they appeared watching him. He gripped both blades pointing both towards himself, and with great effort impaled himself on the tipless swords, a sad smile on his face._

_He hated himself._

"_I'm going to… be late beloved… I'll see you... another time " His eyes closed for a moment, then they opened once more seeing the same sights and those he murdered in cold blood. _

_He hated… He hated…_

This wasn't the world he hailed from, he was quite certain the moment this version of himself actively took on both himself and the Lancer at the school, and preceded to cut said building in half with an imperfect version of Prana Burst… how he had managed to even achieve that was something he really didn't want to know. Not to mention the reactions of both Bazett, it had been a surprise to see her alive considering how often she usually died to Kirei, and Rin to Shirou appearing, the boy appeared to have a very… terrifying reputation to inspire that kind of reaction from Bazett. The worst part of that entire ordeal was Shirou hadn't appeared to even be trying when both he and Lancer had fought the boy before he had used his deformed Prana Burst, besides that the dead look was something he expected from Kirei before the 4th War.

As well was the fact that apparently Ilya was going to the same school as Rin… how she was here in the same city as his past self and not immediately going after him with Herakles he wouldn't know until he had asked Rin later, she was the only source of information he had unless he wanted to be near-beaten again. That train of thought also led him to two other points, the first being that Sakura wasn't enrolled at the school, something that confused him slightly as to how she wasn't in the city, since Shinji apparently still was enrolled. The second point had been the white haired girl that had walked past him and Rin on their way home, his Master had discretely tried to shy away from the girl as they neared each other, for what reason he didn't know, but that was another question he could ask her about later.

He stopped his thoughts when he felt his Master come into the room he had been summoned into, said room still being in the same shape it had been when they left it, ruined furniture and debris still marking the place he had landed. An eye was raised at the depressed air and muttering surrounding her, catching only the end of her muttering before she realized he was there and trailed off, "…id he have to join… It would have already been hard… enough..." Not even bothering to compose herself, the Tohsaka heir walked over to one of the still intact pieces of furniture and flopped down, gloom settling over her before he tried to gain her attention with a simple, "Master?"

Immediately at the one word she snapped slightly out of the gloom, looking directly at him without an attempt to look confident as other versions of her would do in this situation, a breath taken by her calming her enough to speak again. "Archer, we are screwed." He was taken aback by the blunt statement, though outwardly he showed no movement at her words, once again raising an eye to try and get her to elaborate, a sigh leaving the Magus' lips before she began her explanation.

"The man you faced earlier was Shirou, known to Magi and Dead Apostles as the Ancestor Killer for killing one Ancestor and two others that were slated to take the deceased's place and the servant of the Emiya family. He is as powerful if not more so than the Queen of the Clocktower, though he less staying power because of a lack of quality circuits. He has… questionable relationships with both the Mage's Association and Church, mainly because of him not following either organization and his penchant for massive collateral damage, and there's the rumor that he apparently managed to get on the Queen's bad side during a hunt he intruded on. I don't know much else about him aside from he lives in this city with the two Emiyas, and I have enough wits to know better than to go ask his Masters about him."

A nod was the only reply she received for a minute after she finished, more an instinctive response than actually acknowledging she had finished, his mind instead processing the information given as quickly as possible before going to one of his earlier thoughts. "I see… What of the girl we passed by on our way back last night?" The exact reaction he had expected the moment he said those words was made by Rin, her face slightly paling and her entire body going rigid for three seconds before she managed to compose herself, though her body shuddered twice during her second explanation, a cough clearing her throat before she managed to talk again.

"Caren Hortensia… daughter of Kirei Kotomine and friend of Ilya Emiya and Shirou… and a sadist without even trying. She lives up in the church and is the Moderator for this war, and before you ask of her father, she hates the mention of him and he died during the fire that engulfed the park back during the 4th War." The moment she finished another shudder racked her body before she stood from her seat and made to leave, her Servant acknowledging her departure mutely before returning to looking over the various bits of information he had gained from the short bit of conversation they had engaged in, a single thought going through his head by its end spoken alongside a drawn-out sigh.

"Why couldn't this have just been a regular Holy Grail War where my old self was incompetent?"

_Two days after start of the 5th War-_

It felt anger, just as it did with any crime.

Below within one of countless alleys within this city lied three people, two men beating another man up for a reason it didn't care for. It was nearing mid-day, yet the sun didn't reach into the shadows beneath it, a sword appeared unbidden in its right hand before it fell forward into the dark, slowing just before landing and floating behind one of the men as he brought out a weapon of some sort.

It hated killing and felt grief ending life again.

A head separated from its home atop a body, blood leaping into the air in a spray of red alongside the body part, surprise appearing in the two living men's posture before the second man was cut in two, back turned to the man it had helped. It knew what the human would see, just a floating cloak and a black sword, not enough to warrant killing the man which was a relief. Even if it had killed for a lifetime and past, it hated killing and yet continued to do so because… that was the only thing it knew how to do.

It turned and saw a kind of hope and happiness in the man's eyes… Why?

Its sword disappeared, and even if it didn't understand why the man looked at it like that, it gave a slight bowing of its head, turning again and disappearing from view in a flurry of prana motes back into astral state. It didn't leave though, not yet, it wanted to make sure the man would be safe until he was back in the 'main' city, and so it was surprised when the man gave a bow in its direction and limped off as best as he could. It watched him go and ascended upwards back atop the buildings above, trailing behind the man until he neared the streets before veering off to wander somewhere else with a question burning in its head.

Why was that man… so very happy?

An odd sight awaited any who would have happened upon the Wizard Marshal in this world, finding the old man relaxing in the woods around Fuyuki letting out the occasional sigh of content and chuckle as an idea struck him, his Servant somewhere else in the woods, playing in the river or running off to look at some creature or plant. If he had been a normal Magus, or possibly even Dead Apostle, he likely would have been unnerved by the two starkly different personalities the woman displayed in and out of combat, as it was he derived amusement from watching the Servant in either mindset, though he honestly preferred the childish side.

It didn't matter to him if his Servant won the Grail, he had no wish that he couldn't already obtain or see using the Kaleidoscope, not even including the amount of things he had already seen in his many lives, though this War was different from the others, and there was also the other world that was in his Servant's memories, he would need to figure out how to get there at some point but that could wait. He was also sure that the Archer also had no desire for the Grail, from what little he had spoken to her about and seen of her past life, sating her wanderlust with adventure, making a new home and family to replace her lost one, and collecting weapons during her travels… Why she needed that amount of muskets he likely wouldn't know.

His thoughts were interrupted as the individual in question came out from behind one of the many trees surround him, lightly skipping along while softly singing one of the few tales he had overheard in the dreams. Normal individuals would have been unnerved by the morbid tale detailing the extinction of Angels, Demons and Fallen to some otherworldly beings, but again he wasn't normal by any sense of the word and hadn't been for a very long amount of time, and so he merely listened to the story told wondering lightly how to find this world that had eluded the various versions of him for so long. Only when the tale came to a close did he finally speak to his Servant, his voice only slightly serious despite the nature of what he was speaking of. "I will not be aiding you in the Grail War beyond providing the minimum amount of prana for you to survive, Archer."

The first response he received was a light laugh, not something unexpected given what he knew about his Servant in the short time they had spent with one another, the woman turning to face him with a light-hearted smile for a few seconds before she turned away with a stifled giggle. She didn't immediately reply to his blunt statement, walking over to one of the many trees surrounding them and gently brushing her hand over the surface and marveling at the difference it had to the trees back home, before turning back to her Master and nodding. The Outcast's head tilted to the side as a thought passed by, the question deliberated over worth asking for a few seconds before being spoken aloud, her voice teetering between child-like and apathy-filled "You told the Woman in the tower that you shouldn't have been picked when we were there, now you say you don't even care about fighting in this war. Are you just interested in how the War will progress, and want to see how it will go?"

A chuckle left him quickly in response to the very accurate statement and question, his form not moving aside from his head tilting back slightly to look upward into the leaves and sky with its contents behind, "You would be correct, Archer of another world. And I assume that you have no actual complaint with that?" A titter was his only response to that last question, the noise lingering in the clearing as he looked down and found himself alone, the Servant having left quickly to continue exploring, her answer clear to the man despite not having answered with words.

_Three days after start of the 5th war-_

10 years ago, the hotel housing a Master and Servant had crashed to the ground due to the machinations of Kiritsugu Emiya, two years later saw it restored, albeit to a slightly less grand size and scale, and now during this 5th War for the Grail made by Magi it was 'home' to another pair again. The Servant of the two didn't understand her Master, nor why she had even come to the War, said Master having been detached in her greeting when the Saber had been summoned, and felt as if she had been forced into something she felt was worthless. If that had been the case and she hadn't wanted to participate, why had she even summoned her in the first place?

Shaking her head slightly to try and rid herself of the thought, the Saber instead tried to pin her thoughts on what she had seen of what had once been Britain, and technically still was. She hadn't liked being the center of attention when she had been summoned in the Clocktower, near all of the Magi there looking at her with ranging expressions, most giving her bad impressions, with only a few seeming to not care, the only one that stood out being a man wearing a red coat with disinterest coating him like her own Master. The city outside the Clocktower's walls hadn't been nearly as bad, mainly because of the lack of attention she and her Master had received when travelling to the airport, though she hadn't enjoyed being within the closed in spaces lacking the amount of greenery she was used to.

Her thoughts stilled when her Master walked into the penthouse without a glance in her direction, an air of what she assumed was either satisfaction or excitement surrounding Lorelei as she began checking over what few things she had brought with her. Deciding to keep quiet for a short while to try and understand what mood the Vice-Director was actually in, the Saber eventually gave in as the magus finished her preparations for the coming night, giving a single statement. "You appear to be in a good mood Master."

Lorelei continued her last bit of preparation until she was finished before turning to the King of Knights, a predatory smile etching itself into her face the moment she began speaking, the spirit immediately put off the moment actual bits of emotion appeared with the words. "One year ago, a man stole one of my quarries from me, this is his home and he will be participating in this War. I will be… paying him back for taking my kill." She turned to check she had everything of importance on her, well aware of the grimace the Saber was wearing and choosing to ignore it for the moment, several seconds passing before she interrupted her Servant from speaking. "Said man has no problems with me fighting him, and he would have indulged me with a fight there if certain… issues had not arisen nearby that called for me to put aside my grudge with him."

The grimace remained even as the words the Saber was about to say remained unspoken, once again sitting in silence until her Master was ready, taking the short amount of time to clear her thoughts until she came back to her first set of thoughts, finally deciding to ask her question when the human was nearly finished. "Why are you participating in this War, Master?" The question made the magus pause in her inspection of her gauntlet, lowering the arm it was worn on and looking back towards the Servant with eyes filled with steel, enough that it would have made lesser beings flinch and attempt apologizing only to be silenced by her reply, as it was the Saber stared back with eyes almost the same as her Master's.

"I do not care for the Grail, nor of what it could give me. Magi consider joining an honor and to turn down an 'invitation' would disgrace both the person and their family that refuses. That was my sole reason for joining at first, but now a grudge also must be settled." That was the last the Vice-Director spoke, making one last check of the gauntlet before moving to the door of the suite, the Knight-King standing near immediately after the former began turning and made to follow, night falling shortly after the door closed behind them.

It once more wandered around the town, waiting until she told it to come back and play with her in some random game, just like _they_ did when _they_ found themselves free of their responsibilities, _they _were so nice compared to every other being back… home? Was that place it wandered its home? No… home was with _them_, nowhere else, it was fine with any place so long as _they_ were with it… which made it understand why it felt the same as before it met _them._ It didn't care about the wish, it didn't care about fighting or dying, it didn't care about winning or losing… it just wanted to go home. Was that too much to ask for, even after it died buying them a few extra minutes of 'life'?

It guessed it was if it had been summoned for no reason, it wouldn't die for no reason, it had one connection with her that made its time on this world bearable, but she didn't replace _them,_ couldn't replace _them_. The Rogue Lancer decided that thinking over such things weren't of concern, it would eventually die, either at the end when a wish was made, or before in combat against another Servant. And the moment it died, it would be embraced by _her_ and they would begin anew their games along with _her _oath-brothers.

That would be nice, it would be back home… was that place home? Or… was that place a dream and this place reality? The thought made it sad, its memories weren't always reliable, seeing as it didn't know the difference between memory and imagination as well as forgot a lot of things if it wasn't in contact with them. Shaking its head to clear the doubts it held, the Lancer kept walking, dragging the hammer along carelessly behind it as it tried to find something to occupy its time and keep it from thinking bad thoughts.

… … … There wasn't anything it could do without her around except fight another Servant or kill humans, neither of which were really any fun or even enjoyable to do… It would just have to continue walking until she was able to play with it aga... The strange being stopped thinking mid-sentence, seemingly perking up as it heard her call for it, a happy note invading its thoughts as it turned and quickly made its way back to the church.

Metal clinked and clacked in a steady rhythm as the First Rider and his Master walked along the road, searching for another participating in the War to fight just as they had since the first night, tonight would be different from those three days. A turn of the street corner was swiftly brought to a halt upon finding a woman in the middle of what appeared to be a dance, one that was immediately stopped two seconds later as she noticed them, the childish smile she had on her face turning into a blank set line the moment she saw them. No words were exchanged between the Servants, only a short bow of the head by the Rider and a similarly short curtsy by the Archer, the former drawing the blade at his side while the latter drummed her fingers against the smooth surface of the dodecahedron, hands moving to the sides to catch the falling muskets appearing out of thin air.

The right musket was lifted up, its trigger pulled to the sound of a click and bang, the left rising as a ping of a projectile ricocheted off of the metal shield, the man's sword rising in tandem with her musket before both heard a light click,. Twin clouds of smoke blew out from muzzle of both weapon, the Rider's cloud curling along the blade in wisps of grey, a louder ping sounding as sparks raining from the two bullets collision, both sent flying away from the other into the side of a building. The Noble began his run forward shield arm moving up as the spent muskets clattered along the ground before shattering into prana, a single slightly larger musket appearing in her hands, aimed and fired in a split-second with enough recoil to force her back three feet. The shell slammed into the shield, sparks flying and metal warping from the energy behind the projectile before it was flung to the side, traveling into and through the two walls before stopping to a third.

Once more the spent gun was dropped, left to clatter and clack against the stone as a fully metal one took its place, hand grasping the bottom of the barrel just above the lock, the sword was swung with the musket miming its actions, sharpened thin metal meeting sharpened barrel sparking and grinding against the other. Feet scrabbled as the Noble pushed against the Hero, the result easily seen as her body moved involuntarily back, a jump back making the man and woman stumble from the lack of contact, the musket and sword coming up to haphazardly point at one another, each belching out fire and a single bullet that soared by one another. A thin line of brown-red blood flew through the air, a silence playing out before the projectiles met stone and ricocheted off, only one bullet hitting its target and only due to luck.

The Archer moved back with a shallow cut along her cheek, the top of her gun's barrel sliding back in the middle to allow a spent cartridge to fly out, the metal quickly sliding back into place and locking in place, another musket similar in make and material appearing above her left hand before it was caught in a similar grip to the first. Both guns were raised then dropped as the First Hero rushed forward, right weapon swinging into the Rider's shield with the left coming straight after to send the shield down nearly ripped off, the right coming back up to knock the sword upward and failing as it held. Thirteen swings from each were sent before the damaged buckler slammed into her chest, the left musket scraped against armor until it bit into a gap between the metal plates, spilling blue-black blood onto the weapon and ground. A second passed, the shield and musket were withdrawn, both Servants' right weapons still sparking and grinding against one until the Rider let up, taking advantage of the momentary stumble from lack of weight and swinging down with his freed sword.

Metal clanged against the stone before bouncing once, sword moving upwards and cutting through cloth and hide into flesh and blood, a small shower of her blood spraying through the air as she held back an unconscious wince, her weapon jabbing into the Rider's chest muzzle first. A deafening crack echoed out, followed by the knight scrabbling backwards from the fortunately minor wound, enough time given for the Outcast to grab her fallen gun and leap back twice, the strange reloading taking place as she fought slightly for breath, her opponent in a similar position. The rider stood straight as possible, his sword placed in front of his chest with edges parallel to his body, sweeping the blade diagonally before placing it back into its sheathe, giving a bow after the actions were complete. The rifles were spun once before they were crossed over the Archer's chest in an X-fashion, arms returning to her side as her weapons vanished from Gaia giving a curtsy in response to the bow.

"Did you enjoy yourself, First among Heroes?" Silence played in the wake of the Noble's words, melancholic smile tainting his voice with sadness and despair known only to few, the woman's expression blank in comparison to how it had been every time she was seen with the Wizard Marshall. A simple one word was given in response to the man's question, spoken softly in a tone nearly as blank as her expression, "No."

A hmm left the man as the woman turned and walked towards a building, jumping to the three story roof in a single bound and continuing on until she disappeared into, the Noble letting out a chuckle that drew his Master's attention, a question on her lips just as he spoke again. "So you aren't out to kill as the books read, and you're much more reserved as well… at least they spoke true of your two relics and of your coldness, Alleyne. They were quite beautiful to behold." He turned to his Master, walking up to and past her, looking back only to call out and move her to follow him, "What are you waiting on Master? There are still other Servants out wandering around looking for a battle, we should be going home."

_No one was there to help him… no one was there to help an orphan with no foreseeable future. Those words rang through the head of the child in rags sitting in the middle of the empty market, head hanging near limply as his stomach growled desperately for food and drink, the malnourished ten year old thinking of the past week's events. The wild men had come and attacked his rather average village, they had brought their war animals and berserkers, their druids and shamans, they had overwhelmed the town guard and those who held weapons, even the lone Noble who had come for the coming festival had perished to them. His parents and sister were very likely dead, he was probably the only survivor, not that it mattered if nothing happened soon…_

_Flames had lit up the two nights and the day since before burning themselves dry, then they had left just as quickly as they had came, taking with them everything of value, water, metals, fruit and meat, medicine, corpses… only their own dead and Noble's corpse remained, the latter propped next to him with an axe embedded in his chest. Two of them had tried to kill him… he honestly remembered nothing of what happened except the looks as their life left them, the savage grins still there as their axes left their hands, blood both his own and not coating his body and the broken blade he held. _

_A whiney made him try and stand up from beside the stall, the wild men never had horses so that meant that someone or thing else was here, either to loot the ruins or to survey and look for survivors, hopefully the latter. His 'blade' clattered against the cobblestone, the sound echoing through the husks of building and bringing what had been a trot to a full stop, A voice cried out and he tried his best to find the effort to give a smile at the noise that assaulted his ears, metal boots clacking against the stone… no one on the continent had those except for the Legions and the Nobles… he was safe for the moment._

_He slumped back against wood like a puppet cut from strings, his body crying out against the action, eyes closing in relief at the two soldiers coming into sight and immediately letting his body finally sleep. _

_Four days after start of the 5th war-_

Clashing of silver sword upon hidden blade echoed through the streets, two knight-like Servants dueling amidst the towering building reaching the clouds, one filled with hatred while the other only felt confusion and surprise. A brief exchange took place for several seconds at a time before either the red Servant or the blue Servant sent skidding away, both charging forward into the other to keep pressure on their opponent and prevent them from retreating. Both jumped away from the other, the blue Servant landing in the middle of an intersection while the red Servant landed a dozen yards away, the latter near immediately rushing forward again without pause. The clearly-female knight tensed in preparation for a swing, a moment of shock appearing as the other knight barreled into her with a tackle, a lance of red light passing inches away from the back of the horned helmet before striking the ground in a radiant explosion, glass shattering from the shockwave of the blast.

Barely the King heard the other knight growl behind his helm as he stood up and backed away, looking up and to the left at the tip of a skyscraper two miles away from their current position, tightly clenching his sword that was familiar yet couldn't be remembered. "Screw off Archer! Don't interrupt my fight with _Saber_ or I'll kill you!" Taken aback by the amount of venom held within the knight's voice when her title was spoken, she was barely able to return to reality in time to dodge four arrows sent her way, a quick glance showing triple that amount fired at the knight, only three among that number finding its mark while none managed to hit the King. Smoke engulfed the knight, a swing of the silver sword sweeping away the grey 'cloud' the entirety of the knight's form, the air around him conveying his anger at what was happening, beginning to move forward to remove the Archer from his place above.

The Unnamed Hero nocked another unnoteworthy arrow to his bow, a slight shifting of something moving alerting him to someone behind him, followed by a familiar voice identifying the being, "Oi, you know that's going to piss the two of them off yeah?" A quick turn and the arrow was loosed point-blank at the Lancer, the look of amusement not fading as his blood-red spear knocked the projectile to the right into the night sky, a grin settling in place as the Archer jumped off the side backwards with him following three second behind. Immediately the spear deflected another arrow to the side, the missile shattering through the glass and floors until exploding near the top-most floors, taking out a portion of the building in the detonation. Feet touched the glass for a split-second, the bow disappearing and married swords appearing in its place, the sound of shattering once more leapt through the air, a second later replaced by metal sparking against metal.

A cracking of earth as the red-clad servant hit the ground, immediately leaping backwards away from the building to gain distance from where the Irish Hero would land, twisting his body in mid-air to deflect the silver sword aimed to bisect him, the blow managing only to send him flying down the street. The swords disappeared from the world, replaced by the Hero's bow that was nocked with a spiraled arrow of silver, blue and gold, the Hound's eyes widening at the sight while his grin dropped slowly. Scraping sounded out as the Archer skidded back, his arrow loosed with a light twang and travelling into the Berserker within two seconds, the sword attempted to be brought up but unable, an explosion ripping through the street and sidewalks while flames covered the ground, the man clattering back across the street leaving small furrows in his wake.

A closed fist hit the ground with force enough to crack it, sword impaling the ground to better help its owner get up, a low growl slowly building up in volume echoing from beneath the helm. The Unnamed Hero gingerly stood up from the crouch he found himself in after loosing the sword-arrow, another mundane arrow forming in hand that was nocked and prepared to fire at a moment's notice, black eyes darting between each of the enemy Servants waiting for any movement. Gentle wind blew through the streets, cloth and armor rustling as the air slipped between the joints and fabric, nothing else interrupting the peaceful silence the Heroes found themselves in.

Giggling and the pattering of feet rapidly hitting the ground instantly made every Servant move to look across to the Berserker's street, spotting a white-clothed child and a man wearing a kimono, both with a katana at their waist, the child 'dancing' around in cheer while the man looked around blankly. Another giggle left the boy, right hand up to his mouth as if trying to stifle the laughter and failing, skipping to the intersection between the two streets before twirling around once, his voice playing out into the air with a happy maddened tone, "Hi, hi! Can me and Saber-Nii play with you awhile? We got locked out of the house..."

Two seconds were taken by those who were there prior, the strange child-like way of talking, switching easily between merriment and dejection, disorienting to decipher before the words sunk in, the Knight-King looking over at the normal-looking man with confusion before a whisper was uttered from her lips, none but her hearing the sound. "There can only be one Servant per class, I know I was summoned as Saber… so how does he have the name Saber? And if he's the Servant Saber as well… does that mean there are two of each class now?"

Her question was unanswered, as was the child's, the other Knight growling out a response of the child's second sentence, "What gives you the right to barge in between our fight! My duel with _Saber_ is ruined because of those two over there, and now you want to get involved as well! I'll kill you all for trying to kill _him_ before me!" The Saber froze for a moment as she heard the last part, a vague idea of the Mad Servant's identity forming in her mind from the hate the Knight displayed towards her, even still her eyes caught the Berserker rushing forward, sword held high ready to carve the insolent child in half.

Time passed slowly for a moment, a grin manifesting in the shadows of the child's hood in the shape of a Cheshire Cat's smile, his left hand gripping the handle of his sword and drawing it in reverse, letting the blade fly from his grip directly at the charging Servant before sprinting after with a half-second passing by. Broadsword met katana in a shower of sparks, the latter deflected upwards in the short-lived exchange, a hollow ring echoing out as the boy flew into the Berserker feet-first, sending the man stumbling back as the Mad Child jumped off and up into the air, catching the blade with the right hand and landing gently upon the ground. A giggle of pure cheer sounded out before the child rushed forward, sword scraping against the ground until it was swung, crashing against the other sword with enough force to send both flying away from one another, both halted with a quarter-second and sent back at the other.

Ten seconds passed, fifty-two blows clashing against one another before the child's weapon shattered into pieces, grin growing slightly bigger as the western sword sliced through the front of his chest while his hand moved forward, a white glow surrounding it in an ethereal aura. The palm was placed on the chestplate, slightly above where the heart would be found, glowing brightly for less than a quarter-second before the Knight was sent rocketing back once again. White blood fell to the earth, four droplets splashing against the concrete gently before they were stepped upon by the 'dancing' child, happily laughing despite what occurred moments earlier and his own injuries. Dust obscured the Knight for a moment as he landed, a second passing by before it was blown away with a swing of the silver sword, an noticeable rage building up around him as he stalked back towards the cheerful child, distracted the moment a red-tinged arrow was shot over the head of the child and directly into her, another smokescreen covering her from view.

"When was a sheathed sword stronger than an unsheathed sword!?" The shout from the Irishman was barely registered for the King to turn in time to receive the flying Lancer, the blue-clothed man crashing into her for three meters before she threw him off to the side, her hearing catching the ending of a curse as he picked himself up from the stone. Red glowing brought her attention to the other that was called Saber, sword held in the left hand still sheathed which came as a surprise to see, a dozen and a half arrows shooting from the Archer's bow in a cone-like design before homing in on their target, the bow disappearing from view to be replaced by married swords. The other Saber took one step forward, three arrows brushing past him with millimeters to spare, left hand lashing out and knocking another four to the right, a tilt of the head allowing one more arrow to pass by unobstructed. A sidestep made five more miss, the man's sword swinging back left in preparation of the rapidly approaching Unnamed Hero, those arrows remaining sailing by missing without any effort put in.

Sparks flew as sheathe met white and black blades, the sound of grinding screeching in the air for the two seconds of contact they held before cracking was heard, the Archer's eyes widening for a split-second before he leapt back, his swords shattering back into prana from the impossible strength held within the Second Saber's sword. Three steps forward were taken, then one back along with a duck to avoid the blood-red spear aimed at the neck, a twisting of body and lashing of sword knocking the spear upwards while a kick was sent at the Dog's head, eliciting naught as the man jumped back as well. The dust settled between all three, another set of swords appearing in the Archer's hands while the Lancer held his spear ready for an attack from either, the samurai-like warrior holding his sword horizontally before clutching the sheathe with the right hand, readying to draw the sword contained.

A light booming sound alerted the child to something approaching him, turning to face the sound and being met with an invisible sword cutting through his chest once more, white blood freely falling from the wound as he stumbled away. A hand went to the slowly closing wound, pulling back to let the child see the bloody handprint before a mad giggle was let out, the King slowly moving away as slight amounts of fear and caution made its way into her from the sight. The laughter stopped suddenly without warning, the boy lurching forward from the sword lodged in his chest directly through where a heart would be, his head tilting to the side with the grin growing slightly as the attack registered. "I'm tired of hearing that damn laughter of yours brat." The growled out words were spoken in a soft hoarse voice, near to the point of gasping for breath, an 'Oh' sounded from the impaled boy before a weak laugh escaped him, followed by a short one word. "Boom…"

Confusion made its way into the posture of both Knights, followed immediately by shock as they moved away from the 'boy', his body lighting up for a half-second before exploding in a destructive, blinding white light, the two Servants tumbling away in opposite directions while the other battle stilled at the sudden noise. Dust and smoke cleared quickly, showing a shallow crater barely two feet and five feet wide deep alongside a scattering of wisps hanging in the air, not a trace of blood, bone or flesh found on the pavement to show a child had been there. A second passed, an icy chill settling on the Servants' spines at the unsettling silence, broken by mad laughter coming from atop a lamppost, the Second Berserker swinging around the metal lazily with a grin in place.

Two sounds invaded the battleground, the harsh scraping of rock dragged upon stone ringing every four seconds, as well as the light pattering of feet meeting cold metal repeatedly in a slow manner before stopping and hitting the concrete. Twin clicks rang out, followed by a single crack of noise and smoke aimed upwards, flesh pierced fully by a metal projectile before the child fell from his spot, blunt metal hitting him square in the head sending him rolling away. The Second Berserker attempted to rise to his feet, another crack of fire and smoke ringing out alongside another bullet, the metal tearing through cloth, bone and blood again sending the child to the ground in 'pain'. No warning was given as a 'hammer' came slamming down on the Child-King, a plume of smoke rising from the impact while earth ruptured, crater forming underneath the body while white liquid leaked out from under the weapon.

Silence invaded the area, only the scraping of concrete disturbing the tense peace as the 'hammer' removed itself from the crater, the Rogue Lancer stepping back three times before putting the hammer back in its normal position. A ring of steel removed from leather sounded without warning, the swordsman pulling his katana from the sheathe and flipping it halfway in a simple toss to grasp the metal, blade hurled towards the thinning dust cloud without a glance given towards it. The voice of the Second Berserker was whispered out, tainted by pain and dejection, the two Knights freezing at the sound coming from what should have been a dead boy, "Owwie… That hurt a lot…" Cracking as bones reset themselves, blood dripping from rapidly closing wounds against the stone below, the boy's body standing up like a marionette rising from a crumbled position, the maddened giggle slowly growing in volume, a thwack as handle met flesh. "… Can I… hurt you too?"

No reply was given, and yet the child didn't move out of the smoke, the last cloud thinning to reveal the child holding a somehow thoughtful smile that quickly turned to a pout along with the accompanying gesture. "Master-nee, I don't want to come home yet… Can't me and Saber-nii play some more?" Once more no audible reply came, yet the child seemed to become depressed as his shoulders sagged, and an air of gloom surrounded him, "Yes mam. Come on Nii-san, Master wants us home." Silence met those words, only the man's shifting to a 'relaxed' stance and walking away showing acknowledgement that he had heard, both Saber and Berserker disappearing into particles of prana back to their Masters. There was no movement made for several seconds, then the Child-Demon started forward, pulling its weapon along the ground with harsh scraping, a spark flying occasionally from friction generated. Another click sounded out followed by yet another crack of smoke and fire, steel ringing as hidden sword deflected the First Outcast's bullet to the side, shattering glass as it traveled for a short distance more into a building.

Three clatters sounded out as the First Archer's muskets hit the ground, staying in Gaia's realm for seconds before disappearing back to her artifact's vault, she herself landing gracefully with a new set of ordinary muskets in hand. The woman calmly ducked under the fast swing of the 'hammer', straightening up before immediately leaping back to avoid the next swing of the crude weapon, both guns pointed at the child-like being before letting loose their payload. Both shots hit the Lancer, producing only a hole each in the grey 'skin' and a light spray of dust, the creature tilting its head to the side before twisting the pole around its body and bringing the weapon's head down where the female was. Concrete cracked and cratered, the Outcast struggling to hold back the 'weapon' from crushing her under its weight with only the rapidly breaking muskets keeping it away, a step forward and to her right allowing her to slip by moments before her weapons shattered in fragments of wood and iron. Two leaps back put distance between the creature and herself, the former dragging its weapon out of the crater before turning to look up above, its body immediately disintegrating into motes of prana before the Rogue Servant left the area entirely.

An explosion ripped apart the ground directly to the Hound's left, the blue-clothed man dodging the next arrow sent his way and crossing the distance between him and the man he had fought most in this War, spear soaring quickly through the air to knock aside the bow and embed itself in the heart. The Wrought-Iron Hero formed the white sword in his right hand before swinging it immediately into the spear, both grinding against one another before moving to the left, the former moved to be nocked in the still-formed bow and drawn in a single movement, the string let go and allowed to let its charge leave, the blood-red spear spun quickly to send the sword straight up. Both jumped away from the other, the Archer back-flipping away before disappearing back to his own Master, fully aware of his disadvantage against those left and the time left in the night. A growl left the Hound of Ulster, turning away and leaving as well as his Master called for him, similar happening for the other Servants still remaining, leaving only a war-torn battleground that once was a street.

Last to leave had been the two that had fought first, the First Servants of Madness and Sword staying just long enough for the latter to growl out words only meant for her to hear, "You better live past your next few battles _Saber,_ only I'm allowed to kill you, understand me?" The King blinked once before her eyes hardened slightly, managing just barely to catch a slight twitch in the posture of the other Knight before he turned around and faded back to astral form, she as well taking her leave.

_It didn't know what it was, nothing did. It wandered through the plains of hellfire-scorched ash and green grass, through forests of wood and obsidian. It encountered many Demons, Angels and Grigori in its wanderings, they either fled, didn't react or attacked him, in the case of the last it smashed them aside with the weapon it held since it came to be._

_It found someone that showed it compassion. It liked the feeling she gave it, it felt loved. She showed him two others that gave him something else. The older of the two gave him protection, and let him learn new things, the younger played with him along with her. They were all nice, they gave it a purpose, and gave it a name, Doll-Demon._

_It knew what it was now. It was happy._

_Five days after start of the 5th war-_

Prana hummed as it collected in large quantities within the cave beneath Ryuudou, the Witch studying the glyphs etched into the rock as she sought for a way to better her position, with how the War outside was proceeding she was no longer confident. Two Rogue Servants would have been a welcome addition to the Assassin guarding her temple, however in the case of the First Assassin, he was only trackable when he decided to fight someone, and for the Second Lancer… he was trackable… but getting near him without taking a hit would be near impossible. The others were far too concentrated fighting the each other to go looking for her, which was thankfully a plus as it let her build up her temple's defenses and her own power, but it was unlikely to last long without one trying to find her.

A pulse from the ambient magic made her immediately wary, her cloaked form moving away as several of the symbols lit up with a dull red glow before a blinding light radiated from the center, engulfing the room in white before it faded as suddenly as it appeared. The Caster waited for the light to fully dim to look at the light's source, shrouding the cave once again in murky darkness, a single figure sitting in the middle catching her attention, wrapped in a brown cloak with only shadows inhabiting the hood, its left arm outside the sleeve it was meant to be place through. It tilted its head to the side, half of a crescent smile appearing in its right side shadow before laughter, that of both a boy and girl echoed out, the Witch looking around in confusion for its source before looking back at the being moving to its feet. "_Ser_**van**_**ts**_ sho**ul**_dn't _be **he**_**re… P**__lea_**se **le**a**_**ve…**_"

The myriad of voices overlapping one another caused both shock and confusion to run through her mind before the words spoken were finally put together, the Witch then narrowing her eyes as slight amounts of anger coursed through her, nothing showing as she put up a 'friendly' façade. "Oh, I was unaware that I wasn't supposed to be here, are Masters the only ones allowed here?" Its head straightened, the left hand wrapped in white bandages traveling up to where its face would be and covering it, its smile partially covered as it giggled. The unknown Servant walked out of the circle, its action of drawing the pure silver broadsword at its back putting the Caster on edge, bandaged arm moving itself to gingerly run along the blade, the smile fading from view as it turned to regard her fully.

"**Onl**_**y th**_e w_i__**nn**__er_… **ma**y se_e… __**Th**_**i**s_ p_**l**_**ace… Le**_**a**ve…_**"**_Its sword was raised to point at the Witch, five seconds passing in silence before she turned around and made to leave, the sword lowered before its owner was sent stumbling back by the thin violet beam lancing through its chest through where a heart would reside. Satisfaction worked its way onto her lower face, the emotion quickly draining away to a blank slate while apprehension moved beneath her skin as the being laughed again, its voice steadily changing from that of children playing to a demonic chuckle that grated one's ears. A violet aura glowed around the sword, the blade raised sharply to allow a wave of prana to be sent at the Caster, a volley of three beams crashing into it before it reached a meter from its origin making both light up the cave in a bright display.

Calmly the Witch took to the air, darting to the side as another wave of prana raced through the smoke, a third following shortly after met the same fate as the first before she decided to take no chances, recalling the Fake Servant from his post and sending volley after volley into the dust cloud. Ten seconds of sustained bombardment before the voice stilled, another five seconds passing as the beams too stilled, yet another ten ticking by until the smoke thinned to reveal an unharmed Servant and partially destroyed rock. The aura died as the Assassin came into sight, the being's smile coming back into sight as violet flames flickered to life along its bandaged arm, the sword twisted and twirled without a care as it waited for the two other Servants to make a move.

Dozens of glyphs made from violet light appeared in the air, simply brought forth to hang for the moment as the samurai prepared himself for the inevitable clash, the being walking forward in a casual gait, left arm once more moving up to its face and gripping what laid beneath the shadows, a pull letting two strips of the white gauze hang like hammocks. Dust was kicked up, a clash of steel on steel rang out followed by another as the two swordsman began their dance, the Caster's magic firing without regard to her Servant's safety. A slash upwards from the broadsword parried left, a slash meant to decapitate flicked upward at the last moment, specks of dust scattering as the blade passed along the right cheek, another thirteen attacks lost to sight resulting in only two more small wounds on the being's body.

Only two beams managed to strike either within the twelve seconds as they moved around one another, the first going through the lower right stomach of the Assassin, the pain borne in order to parry the coming blow from the broadsword, while the second passed straight through the left side of the being's hood, black 'blood' splashing behind the Servant as it stumbled back. Hissing sounded out, two of the three occupants of the cave having confusion etched into their expressions at the noise while the third straightened itself out, the other half of its smile visible and setting the Caster still in shock at the red-violet half-crescent, the 'blood' discretely moving back to the one that contained them and merging back.

A chuckle emanated from somewhere, its source allowing its arms and weapon to dangle loosely as the violet flames began burning through its bandages, a sea of black found underneath marked with red and violet lines show as the fire faded. It gave a bow, black arm crossing over its body, legs bending as it kneeled slightly before straightening, sword twirled around once before it was thrown at the Nameless Servant, the flying weapon calmly deflected into the air. Looking back at the spot it had taken up, the Assassin found nothing but swirling dust inhabiting the place it once stood, a scratching noise making him bring up his nodachi as well as looking up, scraping and sparks flying as the unknown Servant landed, weapon sweeping just above the ground as it came around again, the blow ducked under before the human Servant retreated several steps.

Its sword was tossed up, the right hand lashing out and catching its cherished blade, twisting it around to be held in a reverse-grip and placed back in its sheathe, bandages forming around the black arm covering the cursed limb once more. The left half of its disturbing smile faded away, a child's laughter sounding again as it walked towards and past the two Servants still in ready stances, a humming noise replacing the laugh as it neared the entrance, turning back to address the Magus with its smile dropping. "_I'l__**l k**_**e**ep** th**_is…_** a **se_**cre**__t… fr_**om t**h_**e r**__es_**t… J**us_t d__**on't **_bl**ow** _up… __**th**_e mo_unt__**ai**_**n… O**r, I_'ll __**act**_ua**ll**_y… f_ig**ht… **n_ex__**t **_**t**_**i**__me…" _It waved with the right hand, spinning around and continuing up the stairs still humming, leaving the two Servants behind, uncaring of what state they were in and only caring to return to the city it had left behind ten years prior, intent on watching the war unfold with only a little interference should thing go too far.

That was what a Ruler was supposed to do right?

_Peaceful, gentle breezes played through the meadow home only to the rabbits, nothing breaking the serenity that the grove held for thousands of years. The girl that tended to them stood in the center of their grove, a gentle smile in place as she quietly put together something they knew not with the black cloth and needle. Days and nights passed by with little eventful taking place, only the squabbling of the ice and fire rabbits making her still in her self-given task, switching to a set of white cloth the moment she placed two sapphires within the fabric._

_She spent a slightly shorter time sewing together the fabric, doing similar to what she had before and placing two rubies within the fabric, taking up the puppet's body and stitching up the gems to firmly fit as eyes, putting it down and doing the same to the black puppet. The two special rabbits sidled up next to her, both curiously looking at the objects made in their likeness before looking up to a warm smile and a simple question they didn't comprehend yet understood. "Ne, would you two mind staying with me, Ael, Lea?" They couldn't reply to her, not yet, still gave their answer to her, lying down next to her and drifting to sleep, a light sneeze from the black rabbit eliciting a spark of fire in front of her and a laugh from the 'human'._

_AN: Hope you enjoyed, see you in around a week._

_**Edit: As of 4/16/16 The first set of interactions have been added. Grammar has been addressed across the chapters.**_


	3. Part 2

_AN: Hope you have enjoyed the story so far for those who have read and continued to read my last story on this site. Also a word of warning, there is going to be a lot of collateral damage, primarily because of the Ruler not caring about enforcing the rules of secrecy unless the Grail makes him/it and a majority of the Dreaas Heroic Spirits' actions… I will say in their defense, they live in a world where everything and everyone wants to fight or kill them, the Second Berserker is a good example as is the Second Saber, and the former of the two mentioned is the embodiment of Insanity._

_Disclaimer: The Fate series belongs to Kinoko Nasu, while Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, the character Blackwing belongs to Lupine Horror, the servants 2nd Saber, 2nd Berserker, 1st Caster, 1st Archer, 2nd Lancer, 1st Assassin, 1st Rider and Ruler and any other characters from Dreaas belong to me._

_Six days after start of the 5th war-_

Sitting calmly with eyes closed against a tree in a park her Master had taken her to earlier in the afternoon, the Caster appeared unconcerned with the lack of her two puppets near her, nor of the black rabbit perched upon her head sleeping. She didn't even need to open her eyes to know that a white rabbit was running around her playfully, never moving far enough away to warrant her opening an eye to keep watch on the rabbit she had arrived with. Settling down and relaxing slightly to join the black rabbit partially in resting, twitching only slightly in irritation as the white rabbit barreled into her as another presence came near and sat down, an eye opening up momentarily to see the girl that was her Master off to the side with a pencil and book in hand.

Not even bothering to question what her Master was doing, the Caster closed her red eye and attempted to rest alongside the black rabbit, managing to drift off partially when the white rabbit left her side to run around again. A minute passed in relative silence, the playful rabbit bounding over to Sakura every so often to see what she was drawing before darting back to find something to occupy its free time with, said human continuing to draw with only the short pause once to try and pet the white rabbit only for it to dart away. Another minute passed to birds chirping and the pencil scratching against paper, then ten more before the Caster's blue eye opened lazily when the latter sound ceased, finding her Master looking at her curiously before setting the book and pencil aside.

"It's rather peaceful here right now, don't you agree Caster?" Sakura gained no response from her Servant other than a small nod, the latter staring at her with one eye before the 'younger' girl's gaze moved to the white rabbit off to the side, watching it hop into Sakura's lap without prompt and settling down for a nap. She giggled slightly at the actions of the white rabbit, then at the black rabbit sneezing without any warning, the human not noticing the flicker of flames fading quickly in front of the rabbit as she stayed within mirth. Calming her laughter down to the point that she only had mirth in her eyes and smile, Sakura then reached a hand down and began petting the white rabbit gently, taking care not to make it uncomfortable and risk it or the black rabbit harming her.

Another attempt to get her Servant to speak failed shortly after, a sigh leaving the Master's lips before a giggle emanated from her lap, a look down showing the Caster's white puppet instead of the rabbit, a short-lived look of confusion making its way across her face before the puppet spoke. "Caster doesn't like to talk, and neither me nor Ael like it when she talks, not since she was a little girl have we enjoyed her voice." A tilt of the head was Sakura's first reply to the statement, her second reply dying in her throat as the puppet continued on shortly after when no noise reached it, turning serious on a dime much to the 'older' girl's surprise. "Caster is much older than she looks, it is a bad idea to try and mark her as Human before knowing her life, time means nothing to her or us anymore." The Master kept quiet as she picked up the white puppet and headed over to her Servant, idly noticing the black puppet was already on the Caster's right hand as she grew closer, handing the puppet over for the Servant to take without complaint before moving back and taking her book and pencil out again.

They both continued to sit in silence until the light began dying, the human barely finishing her drawing before she sent her Servant to scout around the city for other Servants, not terribly concerned with the thought of the Heroic Spirit losing due to the vast amount of magic her Servant held in check constantly.

Tranquility filled the docks, interrupted only by the two hooded figures staring at one another from atop a shipping crate, one holding a Cheshire grin within the shadows of his hood while the other's eyes shone brightly underneath the moonlight, red and blue staring apathetically at the Berserker across from her. A giggle broke the silence enveloping them, then another joined in on the laughter even as it didn't understand what was funny, the white rabbit brought up with its arms at the mouth shaking in unrestrained joy and amusement. The child waved at the three beings before beginning to playfully move around in what he himself thought of as a dance, staggering around and occasionally spinning in random directions while giggling before his voice called out to the mortal deity, "Hi Onee-chan, wanna play with me? Nobody wants to play with me tonight…"

A twitch was the only response his words gained beyond the immediate silence of the two rabbits, both seemingly afraid of something the child wasn't aware of in the slightest, still 'dancing' to his mad rhythm until a fireball rammed into him with an accompanying explosion. The Caster's right hand was held out for a second before dropping back to a resting position, the black rabbit having its paws hiding its eyes from view and visibly shaking, red-orange flames licking the skin and fabric eager to consume something that would burn or char. The giggling from the mad child did not diminish, the smoke clearing from around the area of impact to show him imbedded in the container behind him, slowly removing himself from the metal and stumbling forward before a pouting expression was made with arms crossed. "No fair! You could have just said yes or no…" The Berserker's Cheshire smile made its way back onto his face with a giggle, the boy drawing his weapon and crossing the distance between them within two seconds, katana in motion to kill.

She ducked under the white blade, a hop back providing a moment's respite to sweep the left hand horizontally, a trail of sparkling dust left in its wake before once more she moved back, the child running through the 'mist' earning several cuts and two drops of white blood dripping against the crate below. A wild diagonal swing from the right was dodged by pirouette to the side, a flick up with the right hand setting the 'ground' below the Berserker aflame, a leap back allowing her to avoid the following swing from the burning 'human'. The flames abated leaving the child almost unmarked, the only changes being the flame-touched edges of his sleeves still smoldering and the blackened skin quickly turning white of his hands, the girl landing crouched on the concrete before standing up, both puppets released from her hands and managing to grip the sides of her hoodie, the white rabbit allowing a little giggle to escape it as nothing happened for a moment while its sister removed its remaining paw from its eyes.

Another flick of her right hand sent a column of fire up from where the Child-King stood, once more hardly any injury showed when the flames disappeared, the child merely falling forward from the container and 'landing' face-first into the ground, picking himself up to a sitting position giving his unique smile as the white rabbit's laughter sounded. Two wooden rods dropped from the sleeves of the Rabbit-Keeper, immediately caught with the left swung down in front of the boy, the resulting cloud of dust compacting into an icicle within the span of a millisecond before rocketing into and through the Bloody-Angel, white blood spraying from both wounds tainting the ground white. The boy stumbled back, face devoid of his smile before he 'shattered' into motes of white light, those same lights gathering back together and forming a new, pristine body for the Berserker, the grin immediately etched back into the shadowed face. Fire appeared within the Caster's cupped hand, crackling as it fed on oxygen until it was sent hurtling towards the King of Outcasts, meeting a crescent wave of yellow-white light sent with an over-exaggerated vertical swing feet away from the boy, both exploding into their base element.

Laughter echoed out as the Child-King ran forward through the flames, uncaring of the slight burns he acquired and slashing wildly with his katana, the attack blocked by a newly-formed axe-blade found on the left-held wooden rod, a viscous upward cut with the other sending more of the boy's 'blood' flying as he moved back. A step forward and the child was fighting the elder being in a fast paced melee, both sides inflicting wounds that made orange-blue and white blood coat the ground and their clothing, the boy causing himself harm in order to elicit the four wounds on her, his own injuries equaling nineteen in the brief twelve second exchange. Neither noticed a flicker of flames at the girl's right side, ashes falling to the ground before completely disappearing, while on the other side of her a similar yet opposite occurrence took place, icicles forming and breaking into a fine mist that glittered in the moonlight, both Rabbits missing from their mistress's side after the two missed actions.

The katana was sent flying away to the left from a single block with both axes, the next moment finding the Berserker facedown in a crater of cracked concrete courtesy of a pitch-black fist half his size, attempting to pick himself up only to have a blue-white sword blade pierce through his torso from hip to neck, an inaudible gasp escaping him as the blade was withdrawn. Shakily the Child-King stood up, stumbling twice as he tried to stand straight, idly noting with an insane gleam the two giant humanoid rabbits standing to the side and back of the Caster, both seemingly only larger versions of the two puppets once worn on her hands with the exception of holding a weapon each and being autonomous. Lea held the sword which he was stabbed with in a reverse-grip, the sword in the shape of a cross with the only extra feature a circle roughly a foot from where guard met blade and grip, Ael instead holding a flat-headed two-handed red and black mace with seven points equally distanced from themselves and the haft.

His laughter sounded out, filled with madness that made both the black and white rabbit cower for a moment, a pulse of prana reaching out before light gathered around him in a mock aura, left hand rising slightly while the fingers curled as if holding something. Light slowly gathered within the open hand, forming a sphere the size of a tennis ball, then growing to a soccer ball, a twirl around before the orb was thrown high into the air, the twirl completed with a slash sending another wave of light at the three. The black rabbit vanished in a flickering of black smoke, the white hopping just in front of her mistress and stabbing her greatsword into the ground, a semi-circle of ice forming just to break apart as the light hit, shards of ice flying into the air only to shatter into mist. A clang of metal on metal, then a heavy thud of flesh smashing into metal through brute force, the black rabbit simply teleporting to the insane child's side and swinging her weapon into his, sending him flying into and through a container.

The laughter ceased to stop, continuing despite the injury taken by the Berserker, said boy jumping out of the hole before appearing sitting atop a container behind the Caster, kicking his legs idly against the metal while looking up into the sky. The Caster glanced up, then returned her attention to the boy, the axe-blades retreating into the wood before the rods disappeared back into her sleeves, both rabbits' form dispersing into flame and ice before once more taking their place as simple puppets, her left hand rising once towards the sky before falling again. Humming from the younger, then explosions similar in noise to an artillery shell landing sounded from above them, shards of ice falling to the ground only to shatter against the concrete, nine seconds passing by until the noise stopped.

The hum turned to a giggle, the boy jumping down and twirling once before waving, "Bye Onee-chan! Let's play again sometime!" The Child-King disappeared near-instantly after, inadvertently dodging the fireball thrown at him that melted the container for the one second they collided, only creating a little hole in the crate along with a small river of molten metal rapidly cooling. A twitch before for the first time since her summoning the girl spoke, voice cold and apathetic while the twin rabbits shivered, "… I am not your sister Kodomo…" She too faded away into the night leaving behind only a slightly destroyed dock area and a coating of ice and soot.

_The girl watched as the hunter attempted to find one of her charges, the man holding a simple bow and arrow as most from the 'neutral' villages did and quietly stepping through the grotto so as to find something to take back. The white puppet on her left hand was silently laughing, as was common for it now that it had a voice, holding its paws to its mouth as frost glistened around the girl, a cracked twig making the man look in her direction, a look of confusion passing through his form as he tried to make sense of what he saw. Lea gave the man no time to speak, giggling as she playfully spoke in madness, "Humans aren't allowed here. This place is very special, so go away now or kindly die for us."_

_The hunter backed away slowly, suddenly stopping and falling to the ground as ice encased his feet, the white rabbit's laughter dismissed as he tried to pry himself from the sudden frozen patch, his efforts stilling as he heard the rabbit again. "Oh… you actually thought she would allow you to leave? You who would kill those who took care of her when she was hardly a youngling?" Cold crept up his legs at a fast pace, covering him completely before he had a chance to cry out, the girl walking up to the frozen statue and raising her right hand, the statue breaking into shards as her axe was swung through. _

_Flames appeared on each of the fragments, consuming them greedily before forcefully being snuffed out by the one who willed them into existence, the 'human' girl lying down against a tree as the grotto's other occupants peaked out from their homes, her eyes closing as a yawn racked her body, idly slipping back on the black puppet before falling asleep._

Wind passed by the top of the skyscraper, gently brushing against the metal and glass as flute-song echoed faintly through the air, the Servant playing its melody in tranquil peace free of the worries the war brought and the duties it was burdened with. It continued playing a tune of happiness and grief, hope-filled despair and longing for the unattainable even when it felt another atop the building, no movements made by the newcomer giving it reason to keep at its task. A minute passed, followed by three more before the song trailed off and stilled, the cloaked figure turning round to face its audience and giving a slight bow in response to a light clapping as well as hiding its confusion.

Barely it recalled a hazy memory from the last War, that of what appeared to be a meeting taking place, only muddled colors appearing where people should have been, knowing it should recall the being in front of it and proving unable. Lightly shaking its head of the memory, the Servant turned back around and sat at the edge, a question forming together as it beckoned the being somewhat like it to sit next to it. "_Ho_**w Lon**_**g… has**_ i**t **be**en… **_**sin**__ce _th**at W**_ar_**?"** A light chuckle was the first answer he received, something it didn't understand at first tinging the words the 'teen' spoke, then realizing the motion was a sort of amusement.

"From what perspective? Mine, this world's, yours? The first is near impossible to know, even with a perfect memory, the second is easy, only a few ten years have passed by. The last is difficult to know, because at one point it may seem an eternity, yet may as well be a few seconds or vice-versa." Another chuckle came directly after he finished speaking, the Ruler joining a few seconds later with its half-smile in place and slowly twirling its flute between its fingers. A comfortable silence quickly enveloped the two in its embrace, the only interruption being the shuffling of a body rising to stand and move away from the edge, a few words delivered backwards breaking the silence momentarily, "I didn't expect you to be summoned again Saber… or would it be Ruler now?"

Its head tilted up to look at the clouds lazily drifting through the sky, letting the question linger in silence before struggling to speak again as the myriad of voices played havoc, "_**My**__**c**_**l**_as_s… **i**s _Rul__**er… a**_**nd h**_a_s… no m_ean__**ing… **_**I wan**t to… _jus__**t sle**_**ep… **_**un**__ti_l th_e… __**wor**__ld_ di**es… **I w_an__**t… t**_**o **pl**ay… an**_**d fo**__rg_et… _all _o**f… 'H**_**is' pa**_in… T_he G_**rai**_**l i**__s… _ve**r**_y cr__**ue**_**l…"** It didn't turn around to see what the other being did, lost in another unbidden memory from the last war, once more hazy except for a single detail, a woman in armor of black turned red with markings adorning her form knelt in front of him, a hand clutched against her chest and a polearm barely supporting her weight. It remembered her well, she was one of the first 'He' had thought of, so Reum recalled her imagine vividly and with clarity just as it did with the Child-King and his Shadow. The Ruler didn't hear the reply the godling gave it, lost in memory and thoughts as it was, raising the flute again to where its mouth would be behind the shadows of its cowl and beginning the tune again, only slightly aware of the fact that Blackwing had yet to leave his company.

_Seven days after start of the 5th War-_

Birds quietly chirped in the trees, grass and leaves rustled in a gentle breeze, only a single figure standing between the trees yet not disturbing nature's melody, the being seemingly content to listen to the simple music. A crack as something broke a branch, all noise stilled as the cloaked figure turned to look at who disturbed its peace, turning back to nothing as it saw one of its children wander over without a word said, its body incapable of the act. An arm brushed against transparent cloth, a start of surprise encompassing the Assassin as it felt the hand caress what little remained of its form, the figure's voice playing out as a little girl's distorted voice, "**He**l_lo_… F**o**r_**got**_t_en_ _**O**_**n**_e_… _h_**ow** ar_**e**_ _yo_**u**?"

The Ghost gave no reply to the Ruler, simply floating beside him for several seconds before tilting its head, backing away from the comfort that it didn't deserve and settling down away from the other Servant. "_I_ _di_**dn**'t… e_**xpe**_c**t** **yo**u… _wo__**uld**_ _a_**nsw**er _**a**_… _**cal**_l _fro_**m** t**he**… _G_r_**a**_**i**l… **Wh**a_t_ is y_o__**ur**_… _w_**ish**… I w_on_**de**r?" Once more he received no reply, his body turning to look at the Executioner in its entirety, half smile showing only content happiness at the Ghost, bandaged arm held up as if for the Servant to take before it was dropped, the Remnant walking forward until he stood just before the ghost inhabiting the cloak and swords.

Hand white as bone reached up and patted the being's head, giving no notice to its flinch from the contact before he moved back, turning to look back into the dark woods as sounds of nature once more took over. "**Y**_**o**__ur… __**hi**_**st**ory… _i__**s**_**nau**gh**t… **_**bu**__t a… _fai_**ry **__t_**al**_e…"_ The Assassin stilled at the words spoken, hatred infesting it quickly before the ghost moved, its swords stopping just short of the Ruler's neck, the being not moving in the slightest despite the danger. Bandages ruffled slightly as the left arm was raised, doing as its opposite did moments earlier and gently brushing against the Ghost's face, the Ruler's voice trying to rid itself of the distortion and failing, "_Eve__**n s**_**o… y**ou _**are… **__on_e o**f my… **_**pre**_cio_us__** chi**_ld**re**_n… Ne_**ver**_** for**_ge_**t **_**t**ha_t…"_ His hand left the spirit's face, attention drawn once more to the scenery his Father had twisted to give shape to his World of Dreams, not noticing the other being leave in his distracted state of mind.

_Eight days after start of the 5th war-_

A warcry rang out into the air, followed by gunshots pinging against metal and rock, the roaring and huffing of divine beasts echoing alongside thunder and clashing metal, shattering of objects made of prana as their use died. This was the melody playing out between the First Archer and the Second among Riders, the cold exterior of the former while in combat a drastic change from the childish nature she displayed when outside of it. Her form crouched atop a flickering lamppost, one of the few remaining standing in the large park the two fought in, most having been destroyed in one of the Conqueror-King's charges with a small minority having been shot through by one of her heavier muskets.

Another warcry called out from behind her, body already moving to turn and point her weapons at the man before he crashed through the metal supporting her, both of her guns barking out a shot each as she leapt off the falling debris into the nook of a tree. Quickly she jumped branch to branch, hoping to remain hidden until the surprisingly stealthy chariot, though it was only because of the density of the trees rather than any skill, was activated and carved destruction again and allowed her to keep track of where the man went. She stilled, the rustling of her passage stilling as well as she crouched and tried her best to keep quiet, then came the distinct yell and she cursed again before she jumped away from her current place, the tree suddenly exploding into splinters like its fellows as the Rider passed through it, wheeling the animals around to face her general location.

He was about to speak when she let out a shot from her gun, the bullet grazing the King's cheek but not eliciting any blood from the wound, the smile he held dropping for the moment before the bulls were urged forward again. She leapt out of the tree post-haste, her perch and spent gun splintering under the divine beasts' hooves, another musket taking the previous one's place before it too was fired, the ball impacting against a tree as the King of Conquerors turned and faded among the trees. The game similar to cat and mouse had played for over thirty minutes already, and while she was steadily growing tired of fighting against something with little hope of winning, she wouldn't leave until she managed to harm her opponent at least semi-decently.

An emotion passed through her face as her foe came at her again, one emotion she had hardly felt before and only knew because of her spouse the first time they met, that of blinding anger and rage at being little more than a punching bag again. Left hand clutched the relic at her waist, near ripping it off as she pulled it roughly from the fabric, a dive to the side ensuring she didn't get flattened by the bulls pulling the chariot before she stood up again. The chariot turned around, its driver and passenger bearing witness to something few were capable of, one of which who would teach others that copying him was a very poor choice via Noble Phantasm rain, the human having his expression morph into one of both shock and awe, while the Servant merely whistled. "I believe I may have angered her to beyond reasoning…"

An entire floating wall of muskets stayed in the air above and around the Archer, numbering easily in the dozens, if not one hundreds, a death grip placed upon her relic as she held it outstretched at the King. She spoke one soft yet anger-filled word, a faint copper light pulsing from the Noble Phantasm as it acknowledged its name, "Deanil…" Another word was formed just as the King rode forward, its sound lost in the noise generated as the vault's contents fired as they had twice before in her legend, a literal cloud of smoke emerging from their barrels as they were allowed to fire. The Rider's Master ducked behind the metal as the projectiles flew forward, pinging off metal and wood indiscriminately, etching wounds into the bulls flanks and rarely hitting the rider as he urged the bulls forward.

A musket fell into her waiting right hand, raised upward to point at the left bull before it shot with a crack of fire and smoke, the Rider in the middle of saying something just as the bullet entered the divine beast's head, the corpse falling and impeding the other's progress, two seconds later the other bull dying amidst the bullet rain from a random shoot hitting the heart. The chariot stilled three seconds before the hail came to an end, the Rider refusing to take cover along with his Master and becoming subject to only five shallow wounds, most having shot at the bulls to render the vehicle inoperable. Silence engulfed them three before the muskets in the air shattered, a mist of blue motes drifting down sparkling around the Hero as she placed her relic back where it belonged and allowed the treasured musket fade back to its spot in the vault, turning without any more words and leaving the Rider and his Master, her anger placated with a Noble Phantasm's broken status.

A hmm left the King's mouth before he got off the vehicle, a thought idly entertained in his head before it was spoken out loud, the Lecturer-Magus letting out a laugh along with his King at the quote and words used, "'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'… I believe I know understand what that means."

_The cold was something she had come to cherish, usually it meant she was near home and only a few miles to the underground of her village's cavern. Today however, the cold was numbing the pain she was feeling from what the elder had decided, even if she begrudgingly understood his reasons she didn't have to like being exiled from her family and home. So what if she preferred exploring to farming, preferred looking for new things rather than work in her father's shop, all it meant was that she suited for something different right now and would work when she grew tired of adventure._

_On the bright side she was only exiled for a period of twenty years, she could come back after that time and settle down after she had her fun finding new things… and muskets… Anyway she had to leave the artic and travel south to find something to entertain her, that or help someone by killing monsters or the beings that were in the wrong. Magic was boring to try and learn so that was out, though she could try and learn what the relic she had found did, it was using mana, there were a few villages that could have something for her to do… _

_She'd find something soon or later… first though was getting out of the artic and to somewhere warmer, it was getting to cold for her clothing to bear._

_Nine days after the start of the 5th War-_

How could her Master be so calm in this situation? The Second Berserker was directly in front of them with his Master, fully visible and twirling around the giggling girl whilst laughing. It didn't help that she was also in full view, but at least she wasn't wearing her battle attire and weapon at the moment like he was! She blinked for a moment and was startled to find that they both were in front of them, both leaning forward slightly with a smile in place, one a simple smile and the other a grin befitting the Cheshire Cat.

Taken aback for a moment she quickly recovered once she heard their laughter, her master beginning to become annoyed at the two's antics and about to leave when the boy suddenly spoke. "Do you want to play with us, it's been a while since we got to play with someone else." The boy was saddened slightly during the last portion before immediately becoming happy again and giggling with slight madness. Both adults narrowed their eyes at the two, the Servant moving a bit closer and whispering, "It is still daytime Berserker, we can't fight if we are being watched by regular humans."

The boy blinked several times, the yellow orbs disappearing in the darkness of his hood each time, then he regained his smile and laughed again, "So if no one was around we could play, yes?" Hesitantly the Saber nodded, wary of what the insane child was going to do. She was completely unprepared for when he drew his katana without warning, "Alright then, just kill them all and everything will be fine and we can play!"

With that said, the two could not stop the child as he flashed over and cut a person in two, blood splattering over him and the nearby civilians. It took a few seconds for those on the street to process what just happened, by which another four had died to the Berserker, when it finally registered in their mind the screaming began along with a rush of people running from the child.

He was about to go after more civilians when the Saber charged him fully outfitted for combat, he hardly noticed her anger, merely enjoying his playtime with the 1st Saber while laughing madly. His Master joined in on the battle, her eyes slightly wide at the carnage her Servant created, the wires she kept on her revealing themselves and attacking the Vice-Director in the form of doves, hitting naught but air to which she skipped to the side to avoid the wind blades her opponent sent at her.

Both swordsman and swordswoman danced with their blades, one taking many more wounds than necessary but doing so to inflict the same amount of injuries on his foe. Even with a minute since beginning both were bloodier than one would normally be, red and white liquid flowing down limbs and face and body. The anger from the Saber kept turning to surprise at the actions the boy did, throwing his katana at her, sliding past on his back, dropping when he was in mid-swing, while the boy kept up his happy act, laughing all the while as blood left him and the Saber.

Sirens wailed from around them, the boy grinning even more while an orb of white light formed in his hand, a car rounded around the corner and instantly turned into a fireball as the boy threw the orb into the car. She watched in slight horror as another car turned the corner, exploding before it could complete the turn and flipping into a store. She charged the child before it could fire off anymore of his magic, the arm he was using for them chopped off in a spray of white blood that blinded her, unprepared for the kick sent her way that made her skid backwards.

There was a pause for a moment, the King of Knights taking the time to question the boy on his actions, the boy somehow having managed to regain the torn limb in the short period of time she looked away, "How… how could you just kill them without a second thought, aren't you a king!" The Child-King put a finger to his lips, tilting his head to the side and asking in a curious tone, "I'm supposed to think before I kill something during playtime? And I was hailed as a King even though I had no kingdom to rule..." A snarl came from the Saber's mouth, rage clouding her mind at the bo… no, creature in front of her, it didn't deserve to be called a human, it was just a beast.

"A King, even without a kingdom, should always protect their people and country, a King does not kill or fight for 'fun', those are the words of a tyrant!" Immediately after those words the laughter from the monster ceased, his expression morphing into one of apathy at her tirade. "All you are is a murderer, a monster! You are no King, you have no regard for human lives, nor that of your own, so jus-" "Shut up."

Those two words spoken in a voice filled with apathy surprised the King and both Masters, the Berserker dropping his hands to dangle at his side, "I have been called many things King of Knights. Monster, Demon, Abomination, Killer, Experiment, Brother, Beloved… the list goes on for a while. Not once did I give myself the title of King, nor was it a title that held meaning to any of the people who lived around my family or those I cared about." The Saber recovered from her shock quickly, near-immediately regaining her anger as the invisible sword was pointed at her foe. "That still does not give you the right to kill whoever you please! Heroes are not meant to harm those uninvolved especially with the nature of this war!"

A chuckle, genuine and unfettered by the madness that seemed to be embodied by the child, was allowed into the world of reality, yellow eyes and a thin smile appearing within the shadows before words once more were let out. "Not once have I said I was a Hero, nor have I said I was a Villain… It's hard to say what I am except that I am a Monster that protects what it cherishes. I don't care what I am, I kill others because that is the only thing I know how to do beyond playing games. I was made for the express purpose of waging War." Confusion made its way onto all three listening to the boy, prompting him to continue when no words were uttered by his audience.

"I was raised as an experiment for half my life of thirteen years, during that time I was experimented on, my twin died and I was alone, my body turned into another substance and back. I am a being meant for War, I was never given love and happiness, never felt grief or joy, never learned to read or write, never understood a father's praise or mother's embrace. My life… holds no meaning beyond giving those I cherish happiness, I would give my life if it meant they lived even a moment longer." Eyes grew wide on the Saber's face as the child tilted it head to side with eyes closed and content smile, a step back taken involuntarily at the unexpected expression.

"Still…" Her sentence was stopped abruptly when the child poked her in the forehead lightly, catching her off-guard at the suddenness and unexpected action. "You're a King dedicated to sacrificing herself for the good of her people and kingdom, I'm a Monster that is willing to do whatever it takes to keep those I love safe even if it spells my death. We are similar in purpose, but we couldn't be any more different in practice." The katana was sheathed back within its scabbard, its owner skipping back to his Master before turning and giving some last words to the 1st Saber.

"King of Knights… Don't push your ideals on others just because they follow another path. We are set in our ways, and very little will change us from what we experienced in life. Stay true to your own ideal, and you'll be fine, Arthur." Without even acknowledging her presence again, the Berserker left, his Master trailing behind him with worry, both disappearing into the darkness, sirens still wailing and the fires crackling.

The Master of Saber walked up to her Servant, noticing a slight change in the Saber's demeanor, a bit of doubt barely being noticed by the Magus. Her eyes narrowed slightly before she left, the Saber following at a slower, sedated pace, neither noticing the three sets of eyes watching them, two of them Servants, the other a 'Master' of this war and the last.

_The world became angry, it raged and roared as fissures opened up around the large village. The trees of crystal broke apart from their roots in agony, the tops floating in the air even as their bottom portions fell into the depths of the earth. The heavens grew restless, fire dancing amongst the clouds that became darker with each rumbling of thunder. Huts and cabins all around the town creaked with stress, many of their occupants taking shelter within their homes. Few were out and about as the weather played havoc and chaos. One group drew notice with four individuals of varying ages and descriptions._

_The first was the 2nd Berserker of the 5th War, Cheshire grin in place despite the events occurring around him and his group. The second was the last war's Berserker, stoic hidden gaze centered on the boy as he twirled around in laughter. Third was a boy, a year older than the first, body hidden behind a yellow hoodie, bandages and cyan pants, coughing heard behind the face mask covering his lower face and hood hiding the entirety of his head. Last was a woman, the oldest of the four just past her second decade, long silver hair and eyes the same color,_ _wearing a grey battle kimono, pants, boots and gloves, metal making up the entirety of her right arm and leg._

_Fissures started to break open the buildings, screams echoing into the abyss as people fell. Those on the streets fled out of the village not wishing to be among the dead. The four individuals ran towards the outskirts, the masked girl rushing ahead and smashing through several buildings in her path._

_The two children lagged behind as the young woman sprinted after the girl, a crack appearing before the two just as the young woman passed over. The slightly older boy pushed his fellow forward lightly before the latter boy was propelled forward with an indignant cry. The boy stopped as his fellow yelled his name, the ground suddenly giving way._

"_Byōki-Nii!" The younger boy watched as his brother fell into the abyss, the woman pulling him along as tears streamed down both of their faces. Cracks and fissures kept appearing after the two as the screaming behind them slowly died to a silence._

_The woman threw the boy to the masked girl as a sad smile appeared on her face. "Saya-Nee!" the girl continued running while cradling the boy attempting to break free of her grasp. Just as the girl sprinted past the clearing the rest of the ground dropped and Saya fell into her grave._

_The girl kept running, the ground kept falling directly behind them. The rumbling of the ground was the only sound heard now, the girl did just as both the others did before her. She threw her charge with him bouncing past trees while also breaking through several of them before coming to a stop. The boy looked up as the girl held up her hand and waved, just as she fell like the others._

_The boy fell into a fetal position as the earth calmed. Slowly the ground rose back up, carrying the bodies of the dead after an hour passed. The boy, still shaking, crawled over to the masked girl's body, sobs racking his body and voice, "Onimeido-Nee…"_

Dozing lightly within the one room he called his own, Shirou remained undisturbed in his dojo, largely in part of Ilya-sama and her Servant visiting the town while Emiya-sama had gone to talk with Fujimura-sama. He stirred from his light dreaming of fire and comforting bone and steel as an explosion rang dimly in the distance, instinctively grasping the sheathed blade at his side when a presence entered his sanctuary, only to relax the grip and push himself up with the sword as his Servant made himself known across the link before entering. Walking away from the wall he had been situated against, the Ancestor-Killer moved to the center of the room and sat down again before giving a short gesture for the Saber to come over as well, the older warrior complying without any hesitation.

Once more the younger of the two noted how closely similar they both were, almost a mirror image of one another had it not been slightly different kimono and eye color, before pushing the thought away with minimal effort. "Saber…" Looking directly at the 'Hero', the boy began his question, met with a dispassionate, near-apathetic look from his Servant until the question was fully said, the former of the two gaining an indiscernible spark in his eyes at the end before the eyes dulled. "… what is your purpose and why do you serve Ilya-sama's Servant?"

Silence was met for only a short span of seconds before the Servant's normally cold and stoic face brightened, a smile forming in response to the question before disappearing shortly after, "I owe him a debt that can never be repaid, and so will serve him until I fade to nothing. My purpose… is to make my brother and master happy, to play and fight with him as he pleases and to kill anyone that would try and harm him or his siblings." A short period of comfortable silence passed between the two, the human rearing his head back and letting out a chuckle after several seconds passed, clearly amused by something that eluded his Servant for the moment.

The boy's sheathed blade clacked against the floor as he quieted down and pushed himself up, his brief show of amusement leaving every part except his eyes, the source of his 'laughter' quickly explained to the Servant that was nearly his double. "How likely was it for a single Master to summon a Servant that looks, acts and fights the exact way that they do? How likely is it that they have the exact same purpose for different people, and chose to serve them for the exact same reasons?" For two seconds the Servant was silent in taking the words, his Master moving away to tidy his room and collect his one cherished item before finally the warrior gave a chuckle in response, the same amusement as Shirou had felt welling inside him at uncanny resemblances the two shared despite being born in two different worlds and times.

Raising himself in the same exact manner as the boy had done, the swordsman ceased his laughter shortly before moving over to barrel of shinai off to the side, taking one of practice blades in his left hand before the right took a second, a brief "Master." uttered before tossing the blade to the preoccupied teen. Shirou didn't bother looking at the flying sword to catch it in his dominant hand, setting down a little doll Caren had given him when she had arrived back in its place before turning to address his Servant, the spar accepted without words as the two moved back to their spots across from one another.

"If you will indulge me, why do you fight Master?" One last question was asked of the Master before they began, the Saber and Shirou holding their swords loosely at their sides while the latter contemplated his answer, eyes closing for a brief second before opening again with an answer spoken calmly. "I fight for fighting's sake, I fight so Ilya-sama and Emiya-sama do not have to, I fight for the sake of finding one who may kill me before _it_ takes my life." Another pause before the Servant began to chuckle, joined swiftly by his Master as the latter understood why, both quieting after a few seconds before darting at one another, becoming lost in the comforting calm of battle again as they waited for night to fall again.

_Ten days after start of the 5th War-_

Ring after ring of metal sounded out within the small courtyard surrounded by buildings towering into the sunlit sky, additional sounds of splashing blood and gunshots echoing out in the outer alleyways leading to the battleground. Both the female Berserker and male Saber fought one another, the first with her stolen blade and the latter holding two sheathed fake blades within his hands, each swing made by one met with a near identical blow holding strength enough to cause minor shockwaves to form around the blades. Small craters and gashes marked the walls and ground around them from a missed spot, while they themselves had only one mark made from the other to grace them, a dent in the breastplate of the Knight of Treachery just to the lower left of her heart, while the master swordsman was stricken with a gash starting at the right shoulder and ending at the thigh of the same side.

A roar of hate left the 'girl', once more swinging with her Mad Enhancement active in an attempt to get past the 'strength' of the Saber, a retaliatory strike sent and resulting in another crater forming underneath them, barely a foot deep. Three seconds passed, seven more blows were exchanged between the Servants of Madness and Sword before the Saber hopped back four feet, the Berserker following close behind intent on splitting the man in half. Fake swords were placed in an x-fashion catching the sword of legend in between them as it attempted to grind through them, a light push back sending the Knight back with a slight stumble, the right sword of the 'samurai' pointed at the ground allowing the sheathe to fall.

There was a pulse of prana, then another before an audible cracking noise, the Saber lifting his broken blade and letting loose a horizontal swing, a blink hidden behind the Berserker's helmet before she brought up her blade on instinct, immediately grateful when she was hit though the skyscraper behind her. Rubble rained alongside her before she crashed into the second inner wall, an indent left behind of her as she fell to her feet, a growl leaving her throat before she took a quick glance through what should have been an occupied office, finding only bisected corpses and blood splatters along the equipment and floor. She paid no mind to the slaughtered civilians guilty only of being at the wrong place, intent only on wetting her blade with the blood of the Saber for harming her twice, rushing back outside to find him still standing in the same spot in a bored stance, igniting her anger once more.

Another roar left her as she dove at the man, swinging from the right, then the left and from above, each blow deflected with an ease and boredom that told of his disinterest in the fight, the Knight of Treachery letting out a growl before once more sending a strike from the left, "Fight me seriously damn Saber!" She received no response from the swordsman, merely deflecting the rabid sword blows with the sheathed mundane blade until fifteen seconds had passed, sharply lashing upwards with his blade and knocking the stolen sword from the Berserker's grip. She went into shock for less than a second, leaping back as the sheathed sword neared her chest, a light whistling sounding out before her sword landed embedded in the ground just to the right of her.

Tentatively she grasped the hilt of her sword, pulling it from the ground and holding it out with her left hand joining the right, taking a pose similar to the King of Knights with a rage burning in her eyes with the dismissive nature of the other Servant, "Stop looking at me with those eyes! They're the same as 'Father's', full of contempt and making everyone else feel as if they are nothing!" Dark red light glowed around the silver blade as her helmet disappeared back into her armor, revealing the face of the Treacherous Knight, the energy warping the beautiful weapon into something fit only for unholy hands. "**Clarent** **Blood**…"

The words were uttered angrily, the blade moving in slow motion until it was parallel to her body, the other Servant passively looking on with the same look he held before the Berserker's short tirade, no shock at the use of a Noble Phantasm during the daylight, no fear of what could come, simply the blank look that made her blood boil. A clang stopped her mentally and physically, eyes blinking once to make sure the man hadn't moved before they darted to her left, finding a figure dressed only in a brown cloak that covered its body in the entirety holding a simple silver broadsword against her demonic blade. The Berserker felt an inkling of fear as she looked into where a face would be found, a Cheshire smile found split evenly with white and red alongside a small pure-white dot where the right pupil resided. A lilting laughter sounded out from the figure as she leapt back again, the being reversing his sword before placing it back into the sheathe upon his lower back.

"I may only… _**be an…**_ observer in… **this War**… however… _**I have been…**_ called upon… _**to act as**_ _**the**_… moderator… _by the Grail_. **As such**… _**I must prohibit**_… the use of… **Noble Phantasms**… during the day… **though I don't**… honestly care… _that much for_… **the fights happening**… during that time… so long as they… _aren't like the other_… Berserker and… _**Saber's fight." **_The myriad of voices and accompanying emotions surprised both Servants, changing between children and their cheerfulness, demon's rage and cruelty, angel's happiness and benevolence, the Fae's mystery and curiosity, machine-like monotone and countless others. The being's head tilted to the side mere seconds after he finished speaking, smile still in place as he spoke once more, effort put in to only allow one voice through, "It looks… like I have… to get used… to speaking… again… Goodbye for now… Saber… Berserker…"

Without a further sound the being vanished, leaving behind the two Servants that quickly readied themselves for a fight one more, only to receive orders from their respective Master to stop for now, one placing his sheathed blade back into his sash while the other let her blade vanish back into prana, both turning their back on the other and returning to their astral state.

_The clang of steel against steel rang out indiscriminately alongside the happy laughter of a child, the Swordsman and Child-king dueling to prove one another's worth against their own. Only ten minutes had passed since they had begun and already the ground was covered in furrows and craters from their attacks, and yet the man among the two let out a rare smile from the child that refused to simply stop. Only three times had the child struck him, which in itself was something that made him respect the little child, while he had landed multiple 'deathblows' and uncountable minor wounds throughout the fight, yet nothing made the boy stop once._

_Again he took the child's head off with a swing of the unsheathed blade, the body shattering into thousands of lights before they took shape again with the boy lunging forward, nicking the chest and sending a short stream of silver-red blood flying into the air before another swing made him leap back. The child cartwheeled back before throwing his sword up, the metal weapon twirling twice in the air then caught in its sheathe as it neared the ground, the Child-King bounded back up to the man with his weapon behind his back. "Nii-san made playtime fun. Wanna come along and play some more with me?"_

_A short chuckle of amusement left the man as he placed his weapon back into its sheathe, giving a nod before waiting for the one that made him happy to fight for the first time, not bothering to tell him of what was wrong with him just as he had with his only friend. There was no need for them to concern themselves with a lowly warrior._

The day was currently calm, devoid of the violence occurring near every night since the War began days ago as the Master of the Second Saber moved around his family's home completing chores while his sister's Servant followed him around, his own protecting Ilya-sama as she went about her own day. Emiya-sama was out doing some shopping, mostly due to himself not being welcome in any businesses after several altercations that ended with some men dead… that had been a bad set of days, leaving only himself and the Servant of Madness populating the home. He had no issue with the child, he kept to himself when Ilya-sama was away, walking through the house aimlessly while humming a random melody.

An hour before midday he was just beginning to sweep with the Servant passing by when the sound of knocking disturbed the calm peace and stopped both in their respective activities, followed by the near indiscernible shout and the opening of the door. "Shirou, Food!" A sigh left the older boy before a small smile was placed on his face, taking the broom with him as he went to the living room with the Berserker behind him following, still humming whatever it was the spirit was humming. Entering from the door to the hallway, he first bowed to the 'intruder' and walked into the kitchen to start a meal for her, not showing any discomfort at the silence that stretched on when the other boy entered a short dozen seconds after. "Shirou, who's this little guy?"

A short pause before the boy in white spoke, Shirou stopping his preparations for a quick moment to look with only a bare hint of surprise apparent at the nature of what was said before returning to cooking. "I'm Kodomo, Tou-san, Onee-chan and Onii-san adopted me a couple of days ago and Onii-san just brought me here from where I was… Are you family as well?" Nodding simply was the immediate reply from the older woman, a pause taking place as the information sunk in and a second question was made from Taiga. "Why is your name 'Child'?"

The child didn't reply at first, content to sit in silence until the food was delivered with only an inaudible 'hmm' and slight tilt of the head being produced at a motion from Shirou before removing his hood, pale yellow hair and eyes seen and disregarded as the latter seated himself at the table. A phrase was uttered by all three before they partook in the meal, two slowly while the last outpaced the others by a good margin, a light dusting of mirth appearing in the Magus's eyes as he watched his sister-figure go through what little food was left in the house at the moment before turning to give a look to the Servant as he stilled. "I gave myself that name when I was very little, I didn't have one for a long time before that…"

Another silence took hold of the room as the younger boy trailed off, both others stopping fully to digest what was said before a light giggle caused one to start and the other to twitch slightly, "… but that doesn't matter. Onii-san brought me here, Onee-chan plays with me and I'm happy as can be!" The ending words brought a portion of life back to the table and lunch was finished quickly by the Fujimura heiress, saying a farewell and promise to come back for dinner before heading off to elsewhere, leaving Servant and Master alone for the moment still eating for several more minutes. The human among the two collected the plates when both had finished, the spirit watching curiously as he set them away for later, collected the broom again and made for the door, stopping quickly outside to say three words, "You're strange, Berserker. Was that your real name, or made-up?"

The child's nod went unnoticed while a light affirmative was uttered, "I am what I am. There's no one I'd rather be, than broken little me." A short pause passed before a 'hmm' left the Servant as Shirou looked back with a raised eye at the strange reply, three seconds ticking by until a shrug was made alongside several more words, "Both, that's the name I gave myself and the only one I've had besides brother since... a long time. Does Onee-chan have any wishes she wants granted?"

One blink was given at the sudden change the question brought before the older boy shook his head and walked out with five words spoken behind him, the Servant sitting silently digesting the words before getting up and beginning to wander again, "Only she's allowed to say."

The First Lancer whirled around, red spear blocking the black blade and pushing it and its owner away from his Master. What greeted him was the First Assassin, cloaked form hovering slightly above the ground, only the black sword drawn currently. Without warning or conversation the Executioner rushed forward again, sword lashing out in an attempt to lop off a limb. The cursed spear once again blocked the blow, sending it away before lashing out in the hopes of drawing blood.

The blow did not make contact with the being, the ghost having leapt back to avoid the thrust, once more charging forward as its other sword appeared from the sleeve. Metal on metal was heard, the Assassin barely able to remain on even footing with Lancer, only able from the two tipless swords he wielded with skill. Even if the being was on even terms with the other Servant, the First Assassin was still on the defensive mostly rather than offense.

The Lancer tried to strike up a conversation with the other Servant, met only by silence and a blow aimed at his neck. A laugh escaped him as the back of the red spear knocked aside the black sword, the front end thrust forward in the same movement. The only sound was the tearing of cloth, cursed weapon not shedding a single drop of blood or piercing flesh.

Wide eyes could be found on the Lancer's face, body moving back even as he tried to process the strangeness of his opponent. The other Servant didn't follow him, its gaze assumed to be looking at the damaged cloth on its cloak's right portion. Both swords were twirled once, the being floating forward a meter before being shot in the back with an arrow, joined near-instantly by another seven of its kind, its form bowing forward slightly.

An explosion engulfed the Assassin, smoke covering the being from normal sight even as the Lancer lashed out at the projectiles, barely capable of knocking them away from himself and his Master. The arrows stopped with as much warning as they appeared, the street and buildings to the side of the Ulster's Hound riddled with craters. A wince of pain marked his body, a single arrow lodged within his chest before it was pulled out with a grunt and a small spray of blood.

Each pair of eyes that could focused on the thinning dust cloud, the two Servants and single Master having shock visible for a second when the Assassin stood unharmed. The being turned to face behind him, hooded face looking up to gaze at the skyscraper and the individual standing atop it. It simply stood still, unnerving the Master and causing the two Servants to stiffen in readiness when the ghost vanished from sight.

The Archer turned with a suddenness that made his Master jump, sparks flying with the sound of metal grinding against one another before the Unnamed Hero pushed his Master's assailant back. Tense silence engulfed the three standing atop the building, compounded when the Lancer jumped up after the Assassin. The Archer's bow dispersed into prana, Kanshou and Bakuya appearing unbidden in his hands.

Two seconds passed, the Lancer's spear aimed towards the hooded face facing away from him, the ghost ducking just before the red metal would have passed through its head. A flick down sent sparks flying as the Spear of Barbed Death and the executioner blades scrapped along one another's lengths, spear tip quickly finding itself embedded into the rooftop. A fifth second passed with the Archer joining them, the Masterless Servant hard-pressed to block each of the attacks let alone send out a strike of its own.

Twin swords held by the Nameless Hero came from behind its form, its black blade moving to intercept while its other sword deflected the spear attempting to impale him, sparks and noise generated from the two exchanges. A duck and semi-cartwheel allowed him to get out of the way of the next attacks, both 'true' Heroes continuing their motions allowing the metal of red, black and white collide like the first night, the swords shattering soon after the impact. Another set was of the married blades were created, both sent flying towards the Assassin as it began a retreat, followed by another pair made to block against the Lancer's cursed weapon.

The Executioner's swords swept to the right, knocking the Archer's weapons aside and leaping off the building, leaving behind its opponents uncaring to who won or lost the battle, vanishing a quarter of the tower's height and fleeing to a random alleyway. It looked over itself, taking note of the damage before allowing the prana within it to repair the 'wounds', the swords disappearing back to within the sleeves before the ghost began to wander around. Three splashes of blood with an accompanying thump of bodies dropping returned his prana back to what it had been prior to facing the two other Servants, a sound of footsteps making him look up from the three thugs he had executed.

He was in the shape of an old man, yet the Assassin knew better, the man was much older than he looked, several hundred if its guess was correct. He was much, much, much younger than it was, it had seen the beginning of its world and the ending when the world was covered in snow and ice, it had seen the First Hero and the Child-King both as simple babes after the first thousand years of his 'death'. A flash of black and he had taken the 'man's' head off, watching the body turn into a pile of worms before they reformed, the man speaking as it simply stood still, "So you are the Servant making such ruckus with the Masters and Overseer, and here I was going to ask nicely for what I'm going to do."

The 'man' took out something the Assassin tilting the hood to the side at the arm holding red markings upon it, then tilting it further as the red markings filtered over to the 'man' and he said an order, "Assassin, by the power of this command seal you may not harm me." It stopped just shy of the thing's neck, the ghost returning its head to its proper position while its body shook in an attempt to follow through. A marking was gone as the 'man' turned and began to leave, stopping just before the entrance to another alley and calling to the Servant with a smile on his face, "Come Assassin, there is much to be done in the next few days."

It already hated the man.

_He hated them._

_They had one another in this cursed existence, they had names, they could 'live' lives even in this undeath._

_He hated them._

_He had no one, he had no name any longer, he had no life beyond staying upon the executioner's platform._

_He hated himself._

_He couldn't be with his beloved until he absolved his sins, he wouldn't let the others of this forsaken place leave until he had repented for his killing of them._

_He hated… he hated…_

Ten years ago during the 4th War, the Rider of that war called for a discussion about the various Servants dreams, their wishes and their prior lives before they had ascended to the Throne. Six of the nine Servants had accepted the invitations and gathered around, only one not participating and simply playing with two of the Masters present, mainly because of the lack of ability to communicate properly. Once again the 2nd Rider had called for a gathering, sending an invitation to most of the Servants, excluding the Rouge Assassin and Lancer, and their Masters as well as giving the Moderator one for a reason known only to her and him. It was the Master of the 2nd Saber that allowed them a place to meet, much to the confusion of the other Masters who knew about or of him.

Seven among the fourteen Servants of this War came to the discussion while the same number of Masters came to watch, one Servant without her Master and one unknown Master without her Servant. In addition to the Servants there, several others were watching from a distance using enhanced sight and other means, wishing to know what was to happen yet unwilling to take part themselves for various reasons. The two Riders, the 1st Archer, the 2nd Berserker, the 1st Caster, and both Sabers were present on the night, while all but the Masters of the 1st Saber and 1st Archer of those Servants coming alongside the Moderator and the Master of the 4th War's Saber. All but five of the Masters watching were dumbfounded as the Ancestor Killer came out with two trays of tea, handing out a cup to each of the gathered Servants before placing two kettles on the grass between them, moving back inside and returning with a cup for the Masters to enjoy.

Little talk was exchanged among the Masters until the 2nd Saber's Master sat kneeling at the screen door separating the kitchen from the outside, head bowed slightly and his sword by the entrance to his 'workshop'. The Servants present paid no mind to the Master hosting their discussion, with one among them blocking out the conversation taking place among the Heroic Spirits and simply playing with his Master and the War's Moderator. Just as with the dialogue years ago they spoke about random topics, if they enjoyed the modern world, what they had found to their liking and what they hadn't, simple things that let the Servants relax from the nightly conflicts with one another and the constant tension of unexpectedly meeting one of the two Rogue Servants.

The Master of Caster walked from her spot beside her Servant to Shirou's side, the boy looking up and letting a small smile cross his face at the sight of his friend as she sat next to him. A gentle smile graced her as she looked at him before turning to face his adopted sister and her Servant, him doing the same with both humans reminiscing about the day ten years ago where they had done the same action. "It's been a long time since we played with one another like they are, hasn't it Shirou?" The boy found himself nodding, a light chuckle leaving him at the words she whispered to him while he got up and entered the kitchen, the Servants holding the discussion close to finishing the two kettles already and he didn't wish to get into another argument with the Rider about the rules of his home.

Returning back outside with another tray and kettle, the Master of the 2nd Saber placed down the kettle before picking up the two empty teakettles, returning the varied actions of thanks with a simple nod while moving back to the kitchen to prepare more for his guests. Those he had just served continued on with their prior conversation, the 1st Archer continuing on her story before stopping suddenly and pointing towards 2nd Saber, naively smiling and giggling as she addressed the samurai-esque warrior. "Tell us your wish Sah-ber."

The man didn't outwardly react at the sudden switch of the topic nor at being first to speak of the desire they wished to obtain, simply opening one eye halfway to see the gazes of the other five participating Servants on him. Four words were uttered, the responses ranging from shock to confusion to sadness to apathy, "I wish to die." Silence engulfed the yard, only interrupted by the opening and closing of the screen allowing the host to return back outside with another kettle for the Masters, none among those hearing the words expecting a Heroic Spirit to say they wished death over anything else. A simple question was asked, only one word that conveyed the Servants' curiosity hung in the air with the Saber's second eye opening to the same position as the other. "Why?"

Grass rustled underneath them, a light wind blowing through the gathering as the silence stretched on, ten seconds passing by before he gave a reply, "I wish to die… I wish to feel my body be run through… I want to experience the ending I desire but was denied because of my own body's weakness." A stoic gaze swept over each of them before landing on the 1st Rider and meeting a look containing only sadness, a hand outstretched to point at the noble while the other five looked between the two Servants. "Tell us your wish, the Berserker doesn't have one and the night is growing shorter the longer we wait."

A sigh came as the first sound, then a sad smile was seen as a cup left his lips and he allowed himself to speak, "My wish is… selfish and selfless. I wish to undo the sin I and my men committed against the Child-King and his family so that we may know peace." Giggling, soft and lilting, sounded from behind the man, an unexpected weight settling on his left shoulder, the youngest among the gathered Servants situated atop the joint with his Cheshire grin replaced by a 'normal' smile. Lightly the child patted the 1st Rider's head, hopping back to the ground and twirling once to face towards him while leaning forward.

"I already said I forgave you right before you stabbed me through the heart and shot the bullet…" The boy said the words with a warmth and sympathy unexpected from him despite the morbid words, another giggle let out while he stood back upright continuing on from where he left off. "… but I'll say it once more. I forgive you for choosing duty over your own desires." A happy air radiated from the Child-King as the words left him, immediately after moving back to his Master and resuming their game, leaving behind the still melancholic man smiling sadly, a gesture to his right letting the Caster know she was asked to go.

Light laughter played from the left rabbit's 'lips', its form spinning around once, then twice before it held up a paw to its mouth, the right rabbit merely looking at her sister and her Mistress before putting its hands together almost nervously. "Caster… Caster just wants to never be alone…" A short moment of silence until it was interrupted by the white rabbit's giggling, the being's red eyes seemingly shining in merriment, "We had a nice simple life, only the ending was bad. Nobody but us and an endless forest of frozen trees…" The rabbit's voice suddenly changed to something expected of the black rabbit, somber and filled with dejection, the Caster tilting her head down with a gloomy frown etched into her face while the black rabbit looked on the edge of tears. "… We didn't get a chance to say goodbye to one another… we just… disappeared and left Caster alone…"

"...It was so lonely without someone else…" Apathy, that was the only emotion that could make a voice feel so empty, the last sentence spoken not by the rabbits, but by the girl they spoke for often, most of those attending attempting to suppress a shudder at the sound. With little else said the Caster passed on the discussion to another with a simple gesture of the hand, this time the one who had made this event happen, the Conqueror-King holding a wistful grin while holding his cup just shy of his lips. The man's voice sounded out once more, spoken the same as it was the previous dialogue with the same exact words said.

"My wish… is true reincarnation." Only the Knight-King looked affronted with the wish, holding back her words barely from the conversation with the Second Berserker a day prior, the words spoken then continuing to haunt her with its simplistic truth. The rest of his words were tuned out by those who had witnessed the 4th War, all but the Lecturer-Magus reminiscing of the events happening, those that inspired happiness or sadness, protection or grieving. The Rider passed on the discussion to the sole other Servant from Gaia attending, the Saber's face twisted with a frown before settling back into a neutral mask, taking a sip of the tea before speaking of her wish.

"I wish for Britain's salvation, with the Grail's power I will avert my homeland's fate." There was no looks of sympathy, pity or apathy as she spoke, even the Child-King stopping in his merriment to listen before he walked over and sat down, the other Saber, Archer and First Rider lifting their drinks slightly in acknowledgement of the wish. "… Eh, Saber…" Her armor rustled slightly as she shifted to look at the Second Rider, her eyes cold and neutral while his was simply neutral, "…you intend to rewrite the past, so that your country will still exist… Is that right?" A simple curt nod was her reply, whatever the Rider was about to say interrupted by the other Saber as he gave a contribution in his normal voice, every Servant and Master turning to look at the near-silent man.

"I acknowledge your wish, as I do the rest. You would change history itself, so that those under your rule may not know of the ending you wish to avoid. One problem arises though…" Traces of curiosity made its way on most of the gathered individuals' forms as he trailed off, every eye on him as he locked eye with her, a glimmer of emotion fleeting through his green eyes before disappearing. "…Nothing lasts an eternity." The Archer continued on from where the Swordsman stopped, her voice void of the childish cheer normally found as she gazed at those around her, unconsciously allowing her fingers to play across the surface of the black relic at her side. "Everything will end at some point, your country regardless of your decision will be destroyed in the end. You merely wish to prolong the life of your home and the lives it holds."

A nod at the words spoken last, while the Knight-King's eyes remained defiant of the issue they found with her wish, a gauntleted hand sweeping through the air to point at the Noble, steel in her voice and posture as she once more spoke. "He holds a wish similar in nature to my own, yet you don't deride him from making it!" Chuckling came from the Rider mentioned, turning to near-laughter until he composed himself, looking at the King of Knights with his melancholic eyes and smile before giving his reply. "They don't contest it, because it hardly changes anything… What is there to change when not an hour later the world ends from the moon falling?" Those capable of hearing those words from Gaia choked at the blunt question and the slight realization of why they didn't know of some Servants and how several didn't know of them.

Humming, light, wistful and slow played through the little yard, the Berserker slowly swaying as he made the mournful sound, getting up and slowly spinning around once before stopping in front of the Knight-King, patting her on the head with a soft smile that made him seem much, much older than what he appeared. "You would sacrifice what makes you, you just for the sake of others… You're just like me then, though a much better person than I will ever be." The girl blinked slowly as the child backed away, both from the action he had done and from the similarity he had made again between the two of them, walking back to the spot left for him and sitting back down, continuing with a different conversation.

"I have no wish, because I have no regrets. I lived happy with my brothers and sisters, I played with them and Furawā-chan whenever, and I existed for their happiness and safety." The simplistic return to the prior conversation was spoken fast and with merriment, the switch disorienting those listening for several seconds before they caught back up, the last among the Servants finally speaking after initiating the topic in the first place, her voice back to the childish tone she usually held. "No wish for me, I traveled the world when it was young, killed armies and monsters, settled down, had two children and opened a bakery in my home village. A very ordinary life really." A light giggle left her before the discussion devolved into simple story-telling and more trivial discussions, the guests leaving as the night drew to a close, ready for the coming battles and the end of the War.

_AN: As with before I hope you enjoyed, below this is a list of titles for each Servant, read or ignore at your discretion._

_First Saber- Knight-King, King of Knights, she, woman_

_Second Saber- The Greatest Swordsman, 'Samurai', Swordsman, man_

_First Berserker- Knight of Betrayal, Knight,_

_Second Berserker- Child-King, King of Outcasts, Bloody Angel, the Monster that Protects, boy, Mad Child_

_First Caster- Keeper of Rabbits, Rabbit-Keeper, girl_

_Second Caster- Witch, Witch of Betrayal, Princess, woman_

_First Archer- First Outcast, First Hero, woman_

_Second Archer- Faker, Wrought-Iron Hero, Unnamed Hero, man _

_First Lancer- Hound, Hound of Ulster, Blue Spearman, Warrior, Irish Hero, Irishman, man_

_Second Lancer- Child Demon, Demon-Construct, it_

_First Assassin- Executioner, Ghost, it_

_Second Assassin- Nameless Hero, Nameless Samurai, man_

_First Rider- Noble, Knight, Commander, man_

_Second Rider- King of Conquerors, Conqueror-King, man_

_Ruler- Remnant, Mask of Nothing, it_

_Please note that the list went off of memory, if there are any others that get said please let me know and I'll update this._

_**Edit: As of 4/16/16 The first set of interactions have been added. Grammar has been addressed across the chapters.**_


	4. Part 3

_AN: Not much to say today, so I will just let you get to reading._

_Disclaimer: The Fate series belongs to Kinoko Nasu, while Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, the character Blackwing belongs to Lupine Horror, the servants 2nd Saber, 2nd Berserker, 1st Caster, 1st Archer, 2nd Lancer, 1st Assassin, 1st Rider and Ruler and any other characters from Dreaas belong to me._

_Eleven days after start of the 5th War-_

"Yo." A rather simple greeting given by a Hero, but one understandable for the Irish Lancer given who he was and the activity he was enjoying, said man casting the line attached to his fishing rod back into the ocean water while waiting for an answer. He was rather glad his Master allowed him to come here alone today, considering how she usually acted when the kid was brought up, she'd likely have told him they needed to leave quickly, not to mention she was quite bad at fishing and would scare the fish away… haa… what a bother that would've been. A shake of his head removed that thought from his mind, his gaze moving to the side as he heard another line be tossed into the sea, the recipient of his greeting sitting beside him holding a rod as well. "I didn't expect you to enjoy fishing, kid."

"I don't." The reply came with almost no delay, surprising the Servant for a moment just as short before he let a chuckle out, the boy continuing speaking not even registering the chuckle had occurred until he was finished, nor did he turn even a millimeter to look at the Spirit. "I come only out of a habit I made when I was younger. I was never good at the act, and that continues to now." Three seconds passed by in silence before the teen's line was pulled taut, two quick movements sending the caught fish flying out of the water to dangle in front of Shirou, another chuckle let out by the Lancer as he took in the action. Shirou once more didn't bother turning, bringing the caught fish up to him and unhooking it before throwing it back into the water, only then asking a simple, "Why are you laughing?"

In between his chuckles, the Irish Hero brought his own taut line up, catching his own fish before placing it in the bucket beside him, throwing the line out again moments after the boy had done the same action. "You say you're not good at fishing, and yet a fish bites your hook only a few seconds after it lands in the water, while I've been waiting a good ten minutes at least for a nibble. Why shouldn't I laugh at that?" A low sound escaped from the human, drawing the Servant's attention to him, the line once again pulling taut and the same exact movements being made to make the caught fish dangle in front of Shirou, once more the fish taken off and thrown back to the water.

The boy said nothing however, merely casting the line back after the fish with an almost machine-like quality attached to the action, the Lancer shrugging before turning back to his own line, comfortable silence engulfing the two as they went about the pastime. For several long minutes the silence continued, broken only by the casting of their rods and the splashing of the lures, before finally the Lancer spoke up again, "Hey kid, you mind me asking a question?" A shake of the boy's head was the only reply the Irish Hero received, the older being letting out a bark of laughter before shaking his own head in response. "Mind me asking how you're able to keep up with a Servant, both in strength and in speed?"

He wasn't really expecting the kid to answer him, he was of Magus blood after all and all Magi normally kept their secrets clutched tight, doing otherwise would limit their crafts ability, and consequently their own, which is why he was slightly surprised when the boy gave an answer. "Lots of Reinforcement, put together with gathering mana in the limbs and sword and releasing it when needed." Shirou didn't bother looking over to the side as he began getting up, aware of the minute amounts of surprise quickly disappearing from the Servant's face, preparing to walk away when he was asked another question. "Then how were you able to cut a building as if it was paper?"

A low, almost inaudible noise that the Lancer barely caught was made by the Ancestor-Killer, said human looking back before the sound was processed and looking directly into the Servant's eyes, no amusement found within the boy's own as he began speaking again, his words blunt and apathetic as he was barred from leaving. "I've told you enough Servant of the Lance, or would you like to witness the action again and attempt to discern what the cause is?" A chuckle left the Irishman at the hostile words, paying them no heed as he returned to one of his favorite pastimes, watching the boy leave out of the corner of his eye, waiting until he was out of hearing distance before letting out a sigh and shaking his head.

"What a strange child that boy is."

Wind blew through the trees both dead and alive, grass both healthy and blackened swaying to the breeze alongside the brown cloak, the Ruler found sitting in the dead portions of the park without a smile etched into its shadowed face. Despite taking upon itself the Grail's contents a small part had been left behind, infecting this small track of land with but a tiny drop of the curses the First God held and twisting it into a mockery of what once was… similar to what it had done with his beloved world's forests. Dead grass crunched under metal, his right hand brushing through the dead plants before planting his hand against the dirt and raising itself up, its voice easy to understand as it spoke to the individual behind it. "_Have you… come to… see a place… of destruction… _or did you… come to look… and see… where a… **mistake** was… supposedly made?"

It heard a near-inaudible metallic groan as the figure behind it tightened their grip of their weapon in response, the Remnant didn't turn around to look them in the eye, still mourning the death that was caused in the wake of its selfless wish. "Did you cause this?" Still it didn't turn to look the girl in her eyes, instead holding out its left arm, turning its head to look at the bandages containing its arm and burden, slowly lowering it before finally looking over the right shoulder and finding the Saber of Gaia. A simple forlorn nod of the head giving its answer as it turned to face her fully, unseen eye taking in everything around the Knight-King except her before finally focusing on the outraged Servant. "If you… _were given…"_

The Ruler was not given any further to talk as she sprang at him, invisible sword aimed to decapitate the Ruler blocked by the silver sword swiftly drawn from its sheathe, the King thrown back to her starting spot with little difficulty. The Remnant did not move from its spot, almost lazily lowering its sword as the bandaged arm was raised and held out tentatively before being withdrawn, the being's voice sounding out quietly as the Saber rushed forward once more, continuing where it left off. "A chance to… _**save **__another… __**would you**__…"_ A clang echoed out followed by four more in quick succession, the being ducking a sixth blow and sent his own that nearly drew blood, left arm losing its hand and forearm to her return slash, it jumping back as its bandages began unraveling.

White cloth fell to the grass below, losing shape as the substance contained within left without warning, a moment of confusion overtaking the Saber as she took half of a second to look at the strips before turning and following after the uncommon Servant. She didn't notice the black liquid snaking through the dead grass in the second it took to reach the Ruler and initiate another exchange of swordplay, thirteen slashes intercepting one another within five seconds before once again the Ruler sent the Knight flying away. Tufts of grass flew into the air as the King of Knights slid back three meters, a blink of surprise as her eyes found the being's left arm whole, red and violet lines etched erratically into the 'skin' and tattered strips of cloth hanging from the shoulder, both rushing forward this time only to be interrupted by a gout of flames rising between them.

Greedily the fire consumed everything in between the two Servants, the human leaping back in surprise a half-second after the flames were conjured into being while the being slowed until it was brushing against the flames. Light giggling preceded the orange-red flames abating, soft footsteps approaching the Servants and ash-filled waste decorating the dead landscape, the First Caster wandering into the battlefield with both hands free, flickers of orange sparking to life around her right arm for milliseconds before dying. Neither rabbit found hanging from her clothing spoke, the white rabbit quieting as the Keeper spoke blankly, "You were losing…" Frost glistened as her left arm was raised, the girl turning minutely to look at the Knight-King for the faintest of second before turning back to look at the Ruler, the response she would have gained dying as she jerked her arm up, a wall of crystalline ice rising between them and the Ruler.

Crackling returned alongside a roar, the Saber and Caster unable to see what came at them until it smashed against the barricade of ice, pieces and fragments cracking before flying off to shatter against the unforgiving ground, violet light peeking around edges before the entire construct fell. Violet flames littered the barren ground, two flickering out on the being's outstretched left arm three seconds after the wall collapsed, not even ash remaining behind in their wake. Its black hand fell to the side as every fire abated, the park shrouded once more in the moon's light, a sigh leaving the being behind as it chose to try and speak again, once more interrupted by a wall of flames followed by a King.

Fire merely licked against its skin and cloak, passing through it with little consequence suffered, a series of five clangs, a rip, two more clangs of metal on metal and a crack of bone heralding the Saber tumbling back four meters before righting herself. The hidden sword was pointed at her single opponent for the moment, the spell hiding it dispelling with two whispered words while a literal hail of ice splinters flew past with reckless abandon, the wind accompanying them sending them hurtling faster into and through the Ruler. Dust and black liquid flew into the air, the latter returning quickly and splashing against the dirt, multiple slivers of ice embedded into its body indiscriminately, the major two being at a human's heart and the left side of its face, several more bandages falling to the ground ripped to pieces.

A chuckle, broken and distorted between voices, startled the swordswoman slightly, her temporary partner backing up a single step in surprise as a second sound played, that of a hiss before the left splinters fell from its body and shattered against the ground, its left arm prying the remaining shards of ice to the same sound playing each time. Both took an unconscious step back as it raised its head up, a half-smile of red and violet greeting their eyes for the entirety of a second before it was covered by the unnatural hand, the appendage leaving moments later to reveal its normal shadowed hood. "I _**do**_n't… _like fi__**gh**__ting… my chi_ldren… or _**Fath**_er's… **ad**_mir_**ed **_he__**ro**__es_… unnec**essaril**y…"

The Remnant whirled around without any warning, clawed fingers lashing out and scraping along metal before its sword swept around, sparks flying from its contact with the Rider's blue shield before the latter leapt back, ducking under a swipe of the beings left arm and firing a single shot that was deflected near-instantly. A turn by the Ruler allowed it to bat aside a fireball with its black arm, swinging the sword twice resulted in the charging Saber's attack null and forcing her back, another fireball cut in half while the unnatural hand lashed out and met axe-blades with a clang like steel, its body twisting and sending a kick at the Keeper to send her skidding back and allow it room for the remains of two seconds.

Its sword roughly entered the ground blade-first, its arms spread out only slightly as it gazed at the imperfect moon above, the simple white dot unnoticed by the other three as they readied themselves for whatever was to come next. "_**I'm an Echo… Lost in the Meadow…"**_ The nursery rhyme of the being's Father began on its lips, the short 'song's' innate happiness and sadness washing over those hearing it, cursed arm reaching for the celestial body above as the lines adorning it and the rest of its owner's body flared, allowing even those shrouded in shadow to be seen. "_**My name's Forgotten… the Flowers are Rotten.**_" Wind gently blew past as unnatural grass sprouted in the barren patches, those alive changing from green to black and white while the dead gained life again, white adorning the black within them, yet the other Servants didn't notice what was happening beneath their feet, instead focusing on the Remnant and the amount of prana in the air.

"_**This is my Grave… In the Garden of the Depraved…**_" Two booms as both Noble and King charged forward, reaching it at roughly the same time before it acted, left hand quickly grasping the hilt of Reum and turning to intercept the former of the two, once more the Ruler sending the other Servant flying. Its arm moved faster than the rest of its body, the appendage bending in a way no human or human-based creation was meant to, Reum smashing into Excalibur with a shower of sparks inches before the other blade could enter the Remnant's back, the silver sword let go just after the contact to let it fly through the air. "_**My body Wilting… the World Tilting…**_"

The next four verses were quickly spoken amidst the Ruler defending itself from the three Servants of spear, sword and spell, its blade caught in the white hand failing only three times to stop a blow from hitting it while the black hand managed only one other scratch on the First Rider. "_**Bright Dark… Embrace the hollow Lark… I'm a being of Nothing… Looking for Belonging…**_" A late blow from the Ruler allowed it to take another blow to the chest from the Knight-King, skidding back and taking another hit from the lead ball shot from the Rider's sword, avoiding a final attack from the Keeper made from an icicle shooting up from the ground. "_**Fading to Black… With life I Lack…**_"

It backed away two steps, once more looking up at the moon for a moment before giving it and its opponents' surroundings a glance, noting the hard 'bark' and gleaming leaves common to its world's trees along with the monochrome grass bare of flowers. He returned his gaze to the three Servants he was forced to fight, two of his children that survived to see the world end and one Hero that Father admired and pitied, his left arm outstretched as if in welcome as the final two lines left him happily. "_**By all means… Enter my World of Dreams…**_"

The world cracked at the nursery rhyme's end, black light spilling from the cracks as Gaia was overwritten with the Remnant's World until it shattered completely, each of the Servants losing their vision for three seconds before the light faded away. Trees, an endless forest of trees met their gaze when they could see again, each taller than skyscrapers and thicker as well with bark of stone rather than cork, leaves of emerald, sapphire, ruby, obsidian and many other gem-like rock glittered in unseen sunlight. A flute's song sounded from above in the branches, the Remnant not bothering to hide as it sat playing a simply-carved violet instrument on one of the many branches, seemingly entranced in the music for the moment before pulling the instrument away from its face.

A childish hum left it as the three readied themselves below for whatever laid within the expansive forest of rock and crystal, the being thinking of who to summon for aid before simply shrugging and whispering to something only he knew, "Who wis_hes… to figh_t… against **the**… Reclusive Rab**bit**… an_**d the… Fou**_**rth Seat… of** Ronde?" Its head tilted to the side slightly as if hearing someone or thing, the white half of its mouth appearing in a gentle smile as it stood up, flute moved back up and starting a melody hauntingly sad yet carrying an undertone of hope. A step forward by the Saber was taken before she left her 'allies' behind, unaware of the two individuals approaching the Caster and Rider from behind and above with both Servants moving to face the summoned beings.

Flames sputtered and died while ice ceased creeping along the Rabbit's arms, right axe greeting a nodachi tinted pink along its edge and green along the back and hilt in a clash of sparks, a calm smile adorning the face of a woman only a few years older than the Caster. Eyes the exact opposite of one another stared into blue and red, pure white with a black pupil and pure black dotted by a speck of white each holding a light glint of madness as the sword scratched lightly through flesh and cloth, a drop of blue-red blood running freely down normal steel. Both axes swept through the air in a scissor-like fashion, managing a light cut each through white cloth of the woman's robe, an upwards slash of the nodachi sending the Keeper back four steps to avoid another wound. The long blade was twirled once around in hand before being held back, a quick snap of movement before it was thrown erratically at the Caster, a side-step avoiding the sword while twitch of the hand sent it spinning upwards for a second before it was pulled back to its owner's hand with a simple gesture.

The Knight backflipped once to avoid his opponent's attack, a black blood-like scythe-like weapon emerging from the right forearm and curving inwards around the hand stabbing into where he had stood seconds before, the weapon released from the ground while a second appeared from the slit in its left sleeve. A single moment paused as he took in the barest amount of detail, blue cloth covering the being entirely in the robes of a monk with an added hood and a necklace of purple beads all he memorized beyond the weapons before he was set upon again. Grinding sounded as the curved blades slid along his shield and sword, a stab with his sword meeting no resistance beyond the ripping cloth, the blade torn back quickly to parry another slash away, a light sheen of black adorning the blade going unnoticed in a flurry of bestial blows.

It lead her further into the strange forest, every time she caught up the being merely dodging or deflecting her attacks with ease before escaping away, continuing to play that haunting song not meant for a regular mortal to hear. She reached him again, blessed sword swinging out to finally hit against metal that was sent flying into the air, the lack of pressure put upon her sword making the Knight-King stumble a single half-step before she righted herself, a nick on her cheek making her leap back in surprise at the sudden action. The song faded to an end, the instrument of its origin crumbling into petals of ash as it was let go, replaced by its cherished silver blade as the black arm slowly moved back to its side, violet lines lighting up in a vibrant display as prana surged through its 'flesh'.

A gunshot echoed like thunder in the melody's absence, splashing of a solid entering liquid and tearing of cloth sounding out as the bullet passed through the being's body, a small spray of its black blood accompanying the projectile. Its blood froze in the air before being drawn back like metal grains to a magnet, a sigh and look of realization at knowing the figure through that one simple yet near-impossible act, straightening into a semi-relaxed stance as his opponent did the same. "Aren't you supposed to be ash, Living Blood? The King of the Vu~anpaia Kishi burned you alive after you tried to kill his daughter." He received a reply not with words but by a noise that was indescribable beyond sounding gentle, a bow given for guessing its identity correctly as a 'tail' similar in shape to a fox's slowly emerged from its lower back followed by another, the appendages twisting and curling around one another as if alive.

An explosion of violet light faintly appeared in between the trees, wind rushing past being the only warning they had before the Knight-King flew through one of the trees and into the Noble sending both skidding back, wood and stone floating in the air rather than fall like gravity would normally dictate. The flute-song started playing again as he helped the woman to her feet only slightly, noting the slight dent in her breastplate and near-breathless state she was in for all of a second before he placed himself between her and the creature, deflecting, dodging, blocking, parrying every blow as he focused solely on defense. Sparks ground into existence as one of the 'tails' scraped against the lower chestpiece after the being's twenty-sixth attack, the extra limb pushed up with the aid of a slightly battered shield before being lopped off roughly at the half-way point, the 'Living Blood' backflipping once away from the man as the cut body part bubbled and contracted into itself before it exploded with pure concussive force.

The Noble was sent flying by the unexpected attack, the creature turning to focus on the King of Knights as its original foe smashed through the earth, mutilated 'tail' regrowing itself to its former length a moment before it dashed forward towards the Saber. A bounce, then skidding as the man recovered in the middle of his flight, metal clicking against one another as he righted himself, managing to put his feet on the ground and running not toward his prior opponent and the King but towards the Caster and her opponent, barely noting the lack of flames or ice before he yelled out, "Switch!" His 'ally' currently crossing blades with the other woman in a deadlock let her up pressure near-immediately upon hearing the words, letting herself be sent skidding back a ways before flipping back once into the air, hands catching the metal shield for the barest of a second before jumping off. He didn't watch to see if she moved towards the other skirmish, his attention taken entirely in fighting an enemy that was _human_ and could be hurt with simple metal, swords repeatedly clanging against one another until a coup de grâce was issued.

Fire crackled along the girl's right side while ice coated the left in a sheen of crystalline white as she walked forward, her axes retracted and stored away as they were no longer needed, replaced by both puppets giggling or sobbing as was their nature. A raise of the left arm was accompanied by a spread of frost coating everything in a cone directly in front of her, missing both the King and creature as they split away to avoid the torrent of rime intent on burying its victims in a frozen tomb. Once again the flute-song stilled, the being's body, weapons and 'tails' bubbling as splinters and orbs of swirling black formed in the air around it, noticeably it began to shrink as more and more projectiles inhabited the air.

A needless flourish heralded the orbs rocketing forward at the Caster, a flick of her right hand up sending the frozen waste and everything right of it into an inferno, the orbs caught boiling from the heat before evaporating in seconds of exposure. Flames were snuffed out, leaving behind only scorched earth and rapidly fading heat, the being sending the rest of its projectiles in an effort to turn her into a pincushion, another flick of her opposite hand allowing a wall of ice to rise, effortlessly taking the brunt of the sharpened blood while she backed away. Unseen black blood bubbled and caved in on itself, each of the splinters shifting into a sphere slightly smaller than a golf ball, once more caving in before they detonated, shattering the makeshift wall and sending the pieces scattering.

Four times now smoke and fire belched out a lead ball followed by a splashing of blood, she paid no mind to the Rider behind her already certain of which outcome would occur, her attention focused solely on the 'Living Blood', now the size of a small child with a single 'tail' beginning to sprout after its failed attacks. Two orbs of fire burst into existence at her side without a gesture while ice crept outwards from beneath her feet unnoticed, the first of the fireballs sent missing by a large margin as her target darted around, slowly moving forward before a hail of dart-like flames made it hastily retreat. Cold engulfed its feet, refusing to budge until it looked down and saw the cause, frost quickly coating it intent on making the being into a sculpture of ice, it resigning to its fate three seconds after when all but its head and lower arms remained unfrozen, two seconds later what once was living shattering into pieces of burning ice when the last orb of flames rammed into it.

A fifth and final gunshot echoed out, drops of red blood falling to the ground followed by a body's thud, the Rider slowly moving the blood-slick longsword down to his side as the body before him began to fade away into prana, followed by the world around them as the trees disintegrated into motes of violet. Within the span of fourteen seconds the unnatural forest was replaced with Gaia's realm, no sign or trace of the one who created the reality marble readily visible as the sun began peeking through the buildings, signaling an end to the night's battles as the three Servants left without a word given to one another. A minute passed by quickly before the Ruler faded back into view, kneeling against the blackened grass with hands clasped together and head bowed as if in prayer, a murmur passing through his mouth as several minutes passed by. "For those… _who died… here… _**I am… sorry… Sorry that… **_**your lives… were culled… with a… selfless **_wish… Please… forgive an… old yet… young _being… for its_… **faults…**" Only wind answered its ask for forgiveness, ruffling the cloak and bandages before it too faded away, unwilling to be seen by the few people that came to this park for either play or to do as he had done.

"_Tell us the story of the Executioner Momma!" An agreeing nod escaped the younger of the two children as the request, the woman stretching lightly as she made her way over to one of their few books, flicking through the pages until she reached the desired page, gesturing for her two children to go lay down before she began the old fairy tale from before._

"_On a hill surrounded by trees made entirely of crystal, stood a small town of humanity's ancestors, one of their few homes among the few true settlements of the First Age. These humans were reclusive, rarely venturing out beyond the beginnings of the forest for fear of the creatures that lay within, and as such they had no contact with the rest of the world. They tilled the sparse lands between the woods and their home, each helping one another to survive until one individual had enough and performed the first crime. None knew what to do about the perpetrator, caught swiftly after stealing from a neighbor after breaking down mentally, thus the humans of the crystal forest debated what was to come of the incident before one came forward, giving the idea for executions._

"_There was much deliberation and debate between them before they somberly decided to act on the man's idea, not before giving the man himself the duty of killing his wayward kin by any means. That first execution was done in secret without any knowing of what happened beyond the now-Executioner, over the next two decades each and every time a crime was enacted the criminal was executed both in secret and in public. Some believed the people to be somber, others believed them to cheer the public executions, only one thing was certain though, at the end of his second decade the Executioner went mad, killing all within the town except for a few that fled through the forest, braving the horrors within rather than the madness that gripped the man. Yet at the end, the man killed himself, driving the weapons he used occasion after occasion into himself and somehow bringing a curse upon the lands surrounding the hill, each and every being he killed being bound to the lands they inhabited._

"_The land was lost from maps, and those who tried to go find it never returned, prompting all to forget of the cursed land beyond the descendants of those who fled, calling the place the Ghost Hill and hoping to on day in the future be able to return home." The Outcast finished her story, looking over her sleeping youngest before turning to her drowsy eldest and tucking her in, followed shortly by tucking in the boy, the voice of her little girl softly calling out making her wait just a moment to answer. "What happened to the Executioner, Momma?"_

_She turned to look with cyan eyes at her daughter, walking lightly over and brushing her hand against her child's forehead before giving a quick kiss, finally giving an answer as she stood up "No one knows, sweetheart, it's a story to all but those who took part in it. So we'll never know for sure." Once more she kissed her little girl, getting up and doing the same to her youngest before leaving through the door, stopping only to look back with a smile at her children sleeping soundly._

_Twelve days after start of the 5th war-_

The Second El-Melloi wandered along the paths snaking through the park in an effort to relax even slightly, the tranquil air and noise alongside the cigarette hanging in his mouth barely calming him as he worried over the various events occurring, his King having gone to browse the various shops and items occupying the streets close by. He was almost certain that both the Church and Mage's Association would be paying Fuyuki a visit if things got any more out of control, the only reason they likely were hesitating was the Queen's and Ancestor Killer's presence in the war, and was likely one of the reasons the war was this bad in the first place. A sigh left him as he continued walking, passing by several other individuals and groups until he came upon the ruined portion of the park, immediately noting both the light amount of prana lingering in the air and the familiar figure kneeling upon the blackened grass.

Without pausing he continued walking until he came to a single solitary bench placed near the figure, the older Magus sitting down and taking a lighter out of his pocket, flicking the wheel once to produce a flame and bringing it up to the smoldering cigar still in his mouth. Beyond the small patch of dead trees and grass the noises of children playing and birds chattering continued to play, the light silence between the Magi being broken with a single question "Are you praying or just remembering Shirou?" The younger man didn't reply for a short while, a light cough racking his body interrupting him from saying anything for a short time, while the older man gave out another sigh at the noise, "I suppose you haven't told either of your family of your problem. You are quite stubborn, surviving as long as you have without any form of aid for that disease of yours."

The coughing subsided, dead grass crunching underfoot as Shirou raised himself from his kneeling, picking up the wrapped bundle at his left side before walking over to the paved walkway, the young man's voice clear despite the short cough seconds earlier. "Why should I worry them with my health, Velvet-sama? They both have their own lives to look after, while Ilya-sama has the War to worry about as well." A third sigh left the elder Magus at the boy's stubbornness coming to play again as well as answering only one of his questions, bringing up the lighter and lighting the stick again, a trail of smoke leaving the both the end and the corner of his mouth as he got up and began walking alongside his old student.

Both Masters continued down the walkway in relative silence, neither caring much as what few civilians they encountered went out of their way to not cross the younger man's path, Waver broke the quiet between the two with two more questions, slightly curious to what answers he would receive. "How have you and Ilya been since we last really talked with one another Shirou? And speaking of Ilya, how is she coping with the War?" He waited for several seconds, then brought out the lighter again and flipped it open, pausing to light the flame when Shirou stopped without warning and looked at him with near-dead eyes, an involuntary shudder suppressed through both will and being experienced to worse. The bundle in Shirou's hand rustled as he placed it at his side, the cloth shifting to show a portion of the weapon beneath, white bone momentarily shown before being covered again in black-blue cloth.

"I am as well as I was when you last asked a year ago, if a little wearier from this illness, while Ilya is as happy as she was when you first met her and is close to finishing her normal schooling. I believe she was considering attending the Clock Tower after finishing, but that's too far in the future given what may happen. As far as her coping, she plays with her Servant, remains carefree and ignorant of any deaths that occur around her and goes to school when it actually is in decent shape." A short chuckle met the very last words, considering the amount of damage done to the school at the War's beginning had it under repair for a week and a half before being cleared for use again, while the Lecturer let his thoughts run for short while to process the other points spoken. A shake of the head rid himself of the random thoughts drifting about, his head moving to look his pupil directly in the eye before turning away and letting a sad smile grace his face.

"I'll keep that information if we survive this War Shirou, if she's anything like how you were I can safely assume that the classes will be interesting if nothing else. It was nice to speak with you again after so long, even if we are technically enemies, I wish you luck and hope you and Ilya survive until the end, hopefully we'll see each other again after the War is over." He didn't the see the nod of agreement Shriou gave as he walked away, thinking of the various outcomes he could fathom as well as hoping that the Church and Mage's Association wouldn't send anyone to interfere with the war.

The First Saber ducked the blade guided by hatred, her eyes hardening in recognition of the opponent's armor and the distinctive helmet. The assailant continued her mad rush, swing after swing being sent at the Saber, the Holy Sword quickly brought to bear and clashing against the stolen sword of Camelot.

The Saber pushed the Berserker away, both clutching their swords, one reviled, the other cherished. The Saber spoke, voice calm despite fighting against one of her knights, "Why don't you take off your helmet Berserker, we both know one another's identity now." The Knight of Treachery gave a hollow laugh, the helmet collapsing to allow the Masters and Saber to see the face almost identical to the Saber's, that of Mordred, her 'son', a look of pure hatred in her eyes.

With rage and anger in her eyes the Berserker launched herself at the King of Camelot, intent on having two possible outcomes occur. Sword struck sword, moving at speeds that were simply blurs to the regular eye the two dueled, one strike sending the Saber crashing through a building, the glass panes shattering as the Anti-Hero followed close behind.

The Masters were not idle, the Master of Berserker shooting his gun slightly to the left of the Saber's Master. The Barthomeloi Head threw her arm to the side, a gust of wind blowing the projectiles far off from them, her opponent merely maintaining his confidence and aiming the gun to the right. Once more the gun let loose its payload, once more it was deflected with the wind. A smirk appeared on his face, and the Vice-Director leapt to the side as the 'bullets' from the first volley streaked through where she once was, the Mercenary reloading his shotgun efficiently and quickly as the second volley came lancing at Lorelei.

Within the building the First Berserker and First Saber continued their duel, one crashing through ceilings, walls and floors at the end of every exchange. Prana Burst was used in sync during each clash, the one whose burst lasted the longest becoming the winner of the exchange. The Knight of Treachery fought much like her class was described, holding the stolen sword with one hand and using any and all means to beat her 'Father'. The King of Knights fought as one would imagine a Saber should, both hands resting on the invisible sword's hilt, using only her sword, and Prana Burst when needed, to combat her 'Son'.

With a yell of rage, the Berserker brought down her sword on the Saber, backed fully by Mad Enhancement and Prana Burst. The King of Camelot was sent down through thirteen floors, crashing into a pile of cubicles and office equipment and rolling out of the way as the Berserker followed shortly after, crashing into where she once resided and smashing through down into the lower floor. A moment's respite was all the Saber needed and would get, the Knight of Treachery returning from below and continuing their duel.

Down at street level the Berserker's Master dug into his pockets, his opponent having avoided the 'projectiles' by dodging and blasting them with gusts of wind until the bones were little more than dust. Taking out a lump of red, squishy material, he threw the object near the feet of the Vice-Director, the woman once more sending a blast of wind, the object was cut in half vertically, then exploded much like a grenade would. The two stopped when they heard a large crashing noise, followed by the entire building collapsing on itself, and the two Servants crashing through the windows of the topmost level, somewhere at 56th floor.

The two Servants continued their duel even while falling, using the falling rubble as platforms to move and fight upon. The Berserker grabbed one of the 'smaller' pieces and threw it at the Saber, the boulder-sized rock being cut in two by the Holy Sword, the Saber slightly prepared for the leaping figure following behind it, both swords meeting just the same as they had before. The look of near-apathy on the Saber's face further enraged the Berserker, adding more fuel to the fire that fanned her hatred.

With one last strike, the Berserker held her blade with both hands swinging down on the invisible sword. The rubble they stood on was smashed into pieces, the Saber plummeting into the concrete and a crater forming from the impact. The King of Knights quickly got up, Holy Sword blocking the blow from above, adding more depth to the crater. Two words caused the Mad Servant to slightly widen her eyes in surprise and fear.

"Strike Air." The girl that was once a Knight of Camelot flew, back into the rubble that once a building of the modern era, tumbling and crashing through stone, glass and wood. The Knight was bleeding when she came to a stop, slowly picking herself up while blood ran from left arm, face and chest. The Berserker stumbled backwards with fear when the Saber walked through the rubble, not a scratch upon the King's armor or skin.

The Sword of Promised Victory held in hand, the King of Knights strode forth, face blank and devoid of emotion. A shout had the two Servant looking towards the Master of Berserker, a lump of red flying at the Saber. The sword lashed out, a small explosion engulfing the Saber, the Berserker and her Master left quickly, the heart buying them a short amount of time to escape.

When the smoke cleared the Saber was still unharmed, though she was shaking profusely as though scared or enraged. She stopped when her Master called her name, the wind once again hiding her sword as she went to her Master, her mind troubled by the reappearance of her 'Son'.

_He sat along with the other nine Nobles waiting on those who had asked for sanctuary within the council's halls, the one who named himself Kodomo and others called Child-King, he and his family had… the guards had guessed it was asking but they had no idea. Only the child and the eldest of them had been allowed to enter, more for proper protocol since he and the other Nobles had unanimously agreed that the child's family was much more dangerous than what the soldiers of the Legions were prepared for._

_And so entered the boy clothed in white and by his side a woman clothed in grey, the former looking around in curiosity before focusing on him and giving a cartoonish Cheshire smile, something that should have unnerved him but didn't. "Present weapons." The order was given by the First Seat, she who had ultimate say in all matters militarily and economically, and each of the Nobles presented their arms, swords and maces ornate and unadorned, exotic and common were placed next to them, the woman doing so as well before resheathing her four weapons. The child just stood there, and if they had been able to, he was certain he would be blinking in confusion before he did as everyone else had done, unsheathing the remains of what was a katana with only an inch of broken metal._

_There were no murmuring like one would expect, merely a look of confusion on the youngest of them before it was forcibly returned to the mask they worked in, the First Seat continuing on to the actual discussion. "You have asked for a land to call your own, we wish to know your reasons not only for the land, but asking the Endakai for this help." The woman stepped forward, eyes of steel shifting to meet each man and woman bearing the title Noble before she gave a nod and minute smile that faded quickly._

"_We do not want to stray from our brother who has given us both purpose and happiness, and he will not join another nation after what happened in Old Haven. We ask for a place to settle so that we may not intrude upon the other nations, and they us." She paused, allowing the information to sink in for the Nobles, already several leaning towards a decision while he knew his from the start, as he was sure the First and Second Seats did as well, after a stretch of silence for ten seconds she spoke again, "As for why we came to you…"_

_Laughter from the child interrupted her and placed all attention on him, the smile still there as he spun slowly in a circle, the laughter continuing even he spoke, "Endakai nice people, not mean like Magitates, nor overly passive like Stroodlharnians and Oakenlongs. Endakai have land, unlike Library and New Leon, you not exiled like Nerox and Stormhammers. Only other choice was Vu~anpaia Kishi but they don't like outsiders… so you best choice out of every option beyond making village in nowhere." Once more the room fell silent, either still processing what the child had said or once more mulling over the two options given to them, finally a minute passed before each of the higher Seats looked towards the First, who in turn looked at the child and woman._

_The quiet stretched on until she once more spoke, "And what would we gain from this agreement?" It didn't matter if they got nothing from them, each already knew their answers without an incentive added in, it was more a formality at this point, as it usually was in these councils that rarely happened. The woman looked to her brother, silently deferring to him for his decision, a half-minute passed before he spoke up, the laughter absent but mirth still able to be found in the voice, "We'll fight for Endakai when you need us desperately, and if the others decide to try and kill us you don't have to come to our defense." _

_Each Noble grew surprised at that statement, even his sister was looking at him in a form of shock, that was when he finally stood from his seat, an action that immediately put focus on him, his lack of armor making him become slightly conscious that he was unprotected under so much scrutiny, yet he persevered. He grabbed his weapon, the pistol sword his predecessor had given him and the symbol of the Third Seat, placing it level to his chest point up before he spoke, "I say yes." Silence for a second before the Ninth Seat rose as well and collected her mace, giving her assent in the same manner before each of them had done it, only the First Seat still seated. Slowly she stood, collecting her great blade and letting it crash into the ground, her voice sounding out with an authority few would be able to match even with her young age, "I declare the family of Kodomo to have the ruined village of Lihan as their home, until either their days or ours have passed, they shall remain there and prosper, venturing forth as both a client state and sovereign nation. Until the end of days, so shall it be." _

_No sound of clapping was given, only the ringing of steel being sheathed again, which was a much better sound in his opinion, the child and woman giving a smile before the boy began pulling her by the arm, bringing a smile to a few of their faces before they left. None made to leave, the First Seat sitting back down as she turned her head to look at him, a mischievous smirk in place he knew well to know of what was to come, "Kizuko… you realize they have no idea where Lihan is, yes?" A nod as given along with a sigh, the others letting their facades break into laughter as he received his 'punishment' for not allowing her to go first. "Well… you better catch up to them before they leave Ronde, wouldn't want them to get lost would we?" Another sigh before he left the girl halfway through her second decade and the other Nobles, she was right after all._

_Thirteen days after start of the 5th War-_

Mistress was persistent in trying to get her to talk, even when Lea and Ael had repeatedly tried to dissuade the human from continuing what they though was pointless and a 'recipe for disaster' as Lea had put it once long ago. She honestly didn't mind her Master's constant attempts to make her 'open up', whether she had been given a drawing and asked how it looked, been asked a random question about how her day went or simply been engaged in a random topic Mistress brought up. In all honesty, despite her body giving no reaction to the various actions her Master had done she was happy, her wish was being granted so long as she lived right now. She didn't want to go back to that void filled to the brim with nothingness, that place was scary.

Shifting her thoughts before she would wallow in depression again as was normal of her when alone without either puppet or Sakura, the Caster summoned and dismissed several thoughts drifting around in her head before focusing on one that piqued her interest. '_Mistress acts a bit like Kodomo's second eldest sister, they both like drawing and have magic, though Mistress isn't as cold to others as she was...'_ A look down at the picture Sakura had given her a few days ago made her pause in the middle of her thought, a miniscule smile appearing at the picture of herself, Ael and Lea all resting under one of the strange trees of this world for a half-second before disappearing back to her usual blank look. _'Nor is she as good at her art than she was, then again… Āto was consumed by a desire to make and admire art...'_

She attempted to keep up that line of thought, but as always she was dragged back to thinking of that frightening place, a slight shake encompassing her body as she tried to think of other things only to fail and return to the emptiness. '_I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone. Where is everything? Where is everyone? Where's Ael and Lea? I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone. I don-'_ She was cut off from further depressing and scary thoughts when a pair of arms encircled her alongside a soothing shushing noise, immediately making the void vanish from her mind and allowing her shaking to cease.

Her eyes didn't open to allow her to see Mistress embracing her, nor Lea or Ael as they hopped into her lap, both nuzzling her slightly to comfort and remind her that she wasn't there anymore, her Master softly whispering in her ear as she calmed down. "You're alright, you're not alone anymore Caster." … It felt nice to hear those words, and be embraced like this… How she wished she could stay like this and not have to go back to the void when the War was over… wait… couldn't she just wish to live in this world and go to her world's afterlife when she died instead of that void? Was that possible?

Her eyes opened, calm determination etched into her look as she turned slightly to see the brown hair of Mistress, taking in the calming presence and gentle comfort she gave off, the Caster deciding there and then what her specific wish would be should she win before relaxing into her Master's embrace with a smile.

Tense silence engulfed the courtyard, the Second Saber and his Master pulling their sheathed swords out while the Second Archer summoned his two normal blades, face set in a scowl as he looked over the two in front of him, his own master in the building behind them awaiting whichever opponent came after her. A swirl of dust appeared around where the Saber's feet were once, his body already in front of the Archer with blade in motion to cleave the Nameless Hero in half, the white blade intercepting the movement and angling it down to impale the ground. His other sword whipped around to take off the swordsman's head, the blow finding resistance as the latter's katana sent the former's blade flying away, both warriors looking at one another with blank looks as they continued their duel.

Only three seconds passed in the exchange before the Master of Saber walked forward past the two Servants, calmly entering the building and beginning his search for his opposing Master. Stopping before a slightly ajar door, the scent of prana heavy within the small room. His foot raised itself slightly, lashing out and removing the door from its hinges and smashing into the far wall, setting off the trap within as fire spilled out, lightly warming his clothes and skin, moving on to the next room and repeating the motion. A whistling and four black-red bolts came from further down the corridor, each one dodged with inhuman agility before he turned fully from the trapped room and blankly took in the form of Rin Tohsaka charging another volley of the orbs.

Gunshots fired alongside the ring of metal leaving its sheathe, a light toss sending the scabbard into the line of fire while prana gathered to form an exact replica of his sword. The bullets of magic ripped through the leather easily before moving towards their actual target, forced to the side as he calmly walked forward, swords reinforced as much as possible to be capable of deflecting the projectiles. He spun, sidestepped, twirled and ducked as he made his way towards her his swords moving just as much as he did, the girl moving away with an audible tsk before he cleared ten meters from her. Keeping his current pace, he arrived at the end of the hall twenty-one seconds later, left blade immediately sending a Gandr shot into the ceiling and allowing dust to sprinkle down from the hole upon his head, a crack heard before the projected blade shattered back into raw prana.

Seventy-three consecutive strikes were sent at one another without pause, married swords breaking on contact with the mundane sheathed blade wielded by a Master of the Sword again and again, both lost in the ringing and breaking of swords. They understood one another simply through the clashing of countless blades, they were warriors without any cause to back, destined to simply wander, fight and kill until they breathed their last. Another set of blades shattered into blue motes, the green-eyed man completing his swing and moving for another, quickened his speed for the half-second it took, noting the slight widening of both eyes before the sheathe hit the Hero's chest, a gasp leaving him just as the married blades formed once again in his hands. He was sent flying into the building both of their Masters were in, a slight dripping of blood leaving a cut made just below where his heart was, both swords were put in the same hand as his bow manifested itself in his right hand.

Both swords shifted into the likeness of an arrow as he kneeled, nocked against the black material atop one another, pulled back on the string and let loose through the air, flying true into the katana and destroying both themselves and the mundane weapon. A quiet engulfed them both, the Archer rising back to his feet with bow dissipating and swords once more appearing in hand, striding forward before turning into a run as he rushed at his opponent. Silence greeted him as he approached the Saber, swinging Bakuya from the right, the movement disrupted by the hand hitting his lower arm, then the second hand hitting the wrist to allow the blade to be released, the first hand reaching for the blade and grasping it before sending it down to cut through flesh. The purposeless married blades slammed into one another, a sharp ring of metal sounding out before both sides leapt away from one another, the Archer making another sword while the Saber simply inspected the weapon he took. "It is a beautiful sword…"

The voice was not as he expected it, it was… hollow yet near its end there was something changing the tone, what it was he couldn't tell yet, so he kept listening body at rest for the moment similar to his opponent. "… it has no purpose, much like you and me. I can see why you use this blade so much Archer, it is truly beautiful for beings like us." He found himself agreeing with the swordsman, nodding his head slowly while keeping an eye on him, both arms raising themselves as the other man rose his own sword up, tip pointed to the upper left. A short period of slow movement as they leaned forward slightly, legs tensing before they bounded forward, two sets of sparks flying through the air before they began their exchange once more.

A diagonal slash sent at her was narrowly avoided by accident, tripping on something he couldn't see to fall on the ground, the walls and ceiling shifting to her left and stilling. Rin got back to her feet, sending several Gandr shots at him before running up the stairs to the upper floors, managing only to break the katana and making him waste some of his prana to create a new one. He stepped forward, finding himself directly in front of the stairway after two steps, a light knocking noise came from the steps, his gaze drawn to the green gem that lightly glowed with light, bringing up his katana to point at it before an explosion ripped through the stairs and hallway's end.

Motes of blue light scattered like fireflies as the smoke thinned, the light noise of footsteps upon the wood making her quickly move away from the landing, ducking under the thrown sword and continuing up the damaged structure, already aware of the crater formed where the katana struck the wall with lights dancing around it. Three gems, each a different color and size, were left behind, clattering against the floor glowing from the prana housed inside, a period of two seconds passing before another smoke cloud formed, the damage discovered quickly as Shirou attempted to continue after his foe. Eyes narrowing a fraction he leapt through the smoke, tossing his sword up slightly and allowing it to pass lazily in front of his head, where it shattered after deflecting another Gandr shot that would have passed just shy of his head into the ceiling above.

He paused in his chase of the other Master, right hand pressed against his mouth as a series of coughs racked his body, slumping slightly before he straightened removing his hand to see a light red liquid centered around the palm. Once more he walked after her, a slight stumble marking every fourth step, his circuits beginning to burn from the strain he was putting on them along with the secret he kept from Ilya-sama and Emiya-sama taking its toll. Still he kept going, having felt worse in his short life already, a wall of his fake weapons appeared in front of him, only three dozen to halt the hail of Finnish curses sent at him from further down the hall. They broke, shattering into shards of metal and prana, until only one remained, battered and chipped with the tip cracked off, his hand reaching out and grasping the guardless hilt. The katana was held in his right hand, arm curling around his body to have the sword pointing behind him, he saw a flicker of a shadow moving farther into the building his expression unchanging as he let the swing fly.

The sound of metal breaking time after time was heard outside, the strange Archer creating sword after sword to replace each broken at the hands of the swordsman, the latter occasionally taking one of his opponent's many blades after his current sword was destroyed. For the first time since the beginning of the fight the Saber retreated slightly, the Archer wary of what his plan was until he saw the motion taken by the Saber's Master mere moments before, his eyes widening at the coughing and sheen of blood. "I thought the Grail summoned Servants at their peak potential, not with any diseases or defects." A humorless chuckle was his reply, a light smile appearing on the man's face as he gripped a copy of Kanshou.

"I have had this disease my entire life, it killed me in life before I could obtain my only desire, and it will kill me again if I do not obtain my wish before the third week of this war begins." The voice wasn't hollow as he spoke those words, there were hints of sorrow and longing within the voice along with something he couldn't identify before it fled. "Is it wrong… to want to die as a warrior, and not die to a disease known only to me?" They stood in silence for a minute and seven seconds, the building behind the Archer shifting once more from the fighting within as the quiet stretched on, broken when the Future Hero let out a sigh while shaking his head, a soft smile in place. "…No… No it isn't." A blur and both were at one another's throats again, married blades fighting against each other as their wielders fought to kill.

If there was anything he had to say about Tohsaka-san, it was the fact that she at least was capable of fighting him with her current tactics, unlike the fool Magi and lesser Dead Apostles he had fought many times before. She was using the same tactics as Emiya-sama used on occasion before retiring, regardless of if she was aware of it or not, though she was nowhere near his difficulty in the exercise he ran several times at the castle, she was more destructive than Emiya-sama though which put her on his level of concentration required. He heard a pained gasp from farther within, barely heard over the cracking of wood and concrete as the building they were in began the process of collapsing, a piece of the ceiling sending the blue motes swirling around him as it fell two feet behind and to the left. Walking through hallway, his form blurred before reaching the corner, right hand against the wall bracing him up as he breathed lightly, a red liquid running down from the corner of his mouth before he turned into the second hallway.

Tohsaka-san was on the ground, trying to get up from the floor and failing with a piece of debris lodged through her left leg, a pool of blood under the limb, rivulets of the liquid trailing down her leg each time she tried to stand. Calmly he walked forward, kneeling down when he reached her spot amidst the occasional rain of debris falling, grasping the remains of broken pipe and wrenching it out without any thought given to the girl's physical state. He grasped her by the her clothing's neck, dragging her to a room bordering the outside and throwing her through the window without a thought to the indignant cry, the shattering of glass following her departure as he stilled, a rumble and crash behind him making him jump out and hit the concrete below.

He was several meters away from Tohsaka-san as the building collapsed, a plume of smoke rising from the office building's remains as it fully fell, the girl looking at him with a look of shock and confusion. "Why?" Hearing the word be uttered made him turn towards her, a raised eyebrow his response as he was unsure what she was talking about, then she elaborated with the second sentence, "Why would you help another Master when you could just kill them or allow them to die?" A tilt of the head, then a chuckle as he turned towards her and walked directly past her without giving an answer, both Servants stopping their battle as he came fully into view, the Saber tossing his stolen blade back to his foe and beginning to follow behind his Master. Both quite easily heard the shout the girl gave the other Master, another chuckle leaving his lips before a cough interrupted the sound, a light amount of blood staining the hand that covered his mouth, his mood shattered with the reminder of the illness he shared with his Servant.

_Calmly he walked up the spiral stairway, his brother and King's remaining family elsewhere in the tower of Mad Men killing anything that resembled a human within the disturbed halls. He himself had killed just above two dozen of the creatures that were once human, as well as three of the Mad Men rushing around in controlled panic. He stopped suddenly just shy of a door leading back inside the prison-laboratory, the sound of something growling within drawing him to the metal door and pushing it open._

_The room he entered was white-washed, circular and barren save for a single pane of glass and a figure crouched on all fours in the dead center of the room. A growl reminiscent of the great cats resounded through the room, the brown rags it wore shifting as it rose and began prowling around. He made no movement upon seeing the pale green eyes, almost completely hidden behind its white hair reaching what would be its waist. His left hand moved to the blade sheathed at his waist, pulling both from the blue sash and holding it relaxed at his side, another growl echoing out before the clash began._

_The man knelt beside the creature that came closest to giving him his desire, a single tear falling to the floor and splashing noiselessly upon the broken tiles. His right hand moved to the creature's face, closing the lifeless eyes gently, the left reaching for the 'sword' it released upon death and taking hold of it. "Goodbye…" His voice was tinged with respect and sorrow as he spoke to the dead, neither of which he was used to having within him, "Thank you… for almost giving me my wish. You're the closest yet to killing me." He ignored the dripping from his wounds, silver-red mixing with the white-black already pooled around the floor under him and the corpse, the stinging and depilating pain reminding him why he fought._

_Slowly he rose from his kneeling, casting one more glance at the corpse before moving back to the single door, pushing it open and returning to the outside world, lightning crackling in the sky above._

All was quiet at the Emiya household, Shirou and his Saber away for the moment to do his round of patrolling for the night while Ilya and her Berserker remained home to rest, Kiritsugu out paying a visit to the Fujimura head for 'business reasons'. Tonight however another Servant came by unannounced for a visit to the Berserker, though not making any move to enter the residence and sitting unmoving outside amidst the grass, gently humming a tune of noises that shouldn't be capable of being made by a human mouth. The Remnant kept humming when a door opened to the outside, kept playing one of its tune when a white blur crashed into him and started hugging him, an action that was reciprocated by the 'older' being as the 'younger' started crying and repeating a single muffled word, "…Daddy…"

"_Ne… _Stop your crying… _little_ **Bloody Angel… **_**I'm going **_**nowhere…**" Shortly after the words were spoken the Berserker slowly stopped repeating the one word, instead clutching the cloaked figure tighter as if it would disappear despite its reassurance. "_It's nice… to finally_**… see you**_** in… person… **_little Child-King…_**"**_ It heard only a muffled sound from the child in response before his master came outside as well, blinking twice with a tilted head at the sight of her normally cheerful, if somewhat insane, Servant acting like his supposed age with an unknown person. And so the words she said a few seconds later were entirely expected, "Berserker, who is this and why are you crying?"

A few more, slightly longer seconds passed before the boy untangled himself from the Remnant, head bowed slightly as a gentle pat was received for a second, a tiny smile appearing in the shadows of his hood at the contact before he backed away to stand besides Ilya. His voice was filled with something akin to joy and grief mixed together with the former containing the other as he spoke, eyes never leaving the figure in case it was an illusion or dream, "That's daddy. I never got to see him when I was littler, he wasn't allowed to come home." A half-smile appeared within the being's hood, an air of content surrounding it as it made to sit in the grass, once again beginning to hum one of its random tunes that only it or another like it would understand.

"_I am__**… what I am…**_ And _there's_ **no one… **I'd rather _**be… **_**Than **broken _little… me…"_ Happiness and sadness intertwined together in the being's voice as the phrase was uttered, the being lapsing back to its humming without any other prompt. The Ruler barely acknowledged the Berserker moving back to his side and sitting down as well, smile small and content as the child leaned against the 'older' being, his Master shaking her head lightly with bits of confusion of amusement at the calm enveloping him before moving back inside. Seconds became minutes, which then went on into an hour, at some point the child yawning lightly before moving back inside for sleep, leaving the other Servant alone in the yard continuing its seemingly endless song.

Its tune faded quietly into the night as the hour ended, the being beginning to leave when two light claps sounded, the noise making it still and finally notice the man sitting on the porch, a cigarette in the corner of his mouth leaving a thin line of smoke trailing upwards. Both hands moved away from one another, the right raised slightly in greeting while the man's mouth moved into a small smile at the sight before him, reminiscence apparent in his voice as he began to speak, "It's been a while, hasn't it?" A minute tilt of its head was the being's first response, a memory rising unbidden of what appeared to be a chapel, three figures in front of it as a cloud of smoke disappeared from around it, two of them blurred out to indistinct shapes while the third was somewhat able to be seen, near-dead eyes and black attire being easily seen.

"_I _**think I… **_**remember**_ you… **But…** _I can't__**… **_remember _**who… you**_ are… or_ your… name…_" The man's smile turned into a sad one at those words, letting out a sigh in turn before standing up and removing the cigarette from his mouth, turning around and stopping just before entering the home. "Regardless, it is a pleasure to see you again Saber, despite you having to fight against my children at some point." The screen door shut softly behind him, done simply to make sure the two children inside weren't disturbed from their sleep, no longer able to see the Remnant or the saddened air around it as it made to leave as well, its intentions known only to itself and the being known as Blackwing.

_Fourteen days after start of the 5th war-_

Scraping of rock upon rock scratched out into the cloudless night, alerting every being within hearing distance of the last Rogue Servant's random nightly wandering, light pattering of liquid sounding from two craters found in the pavement and concrete wall. Two steps taken then a stumbled step taken, a cracking sound like bone breaking sounding from the back of its head, minute amounts of dust falling from its wound, head tilting to the left as it began to turn around. Once more it was interrupted, stumbling back as more dust fell from the slash mark adorning its chest, eyeless gaze catching sight of the color red mixed with blue rapidly moving away from it.

Several more cracks creaked from its body, the 'hammer' it carried held tightly in preparation before it turned completely to face the opposite side, the 'weapon' swung narrowly being avoided by the Enforcer only due to the runes etched into her limbs. The swing was not stopped, the child-like creature continuing to turn to its original position, rock grating against metal as the Lancers' weapons met, the First among them immediately jumping back to avoid being sent flying away from the Second. A small cloud of dust sprang into the air as the 'hammer' came to a sudden rest in the earth, a curved groove etched into the pavement showing the path it had taken.

A brief minute passed by, every four seconds punctuated by a dust cloud rising from the shattered earth below them, every two interposed by cracking of 'bones' breaking from blunt force, every three resounding with metal clashing time after time. The Rogue Servant tilted its head to the right sharply, turning its body just as a glowing fist swept through where it had been, its owner's eyes widening in surprise that quickly turned to pain as the metal end hit her square in the chest, the Enforcer sent tumbling back before regaining her footing. It continued turning, the Spear of Barbed Death missing its body by centimeters, the weapon brought back rapidly allowing the First Lancer to slide into a defensive stance moments before the stone head of the 'hammer' crashed into him, his form sent flying just like his Master.

Skidding back along the earth, the Irishman dropped to all fours, hands scrabbling against the uneven ground calmly as he slowed to a stop, making ready to sprint forward as he called out to his Master, "Bazett, move!" The Enforcer did as was asked, immediately turning and dashing away in order to avoid what was to come, three seconds later the Spearman rushed forward, covering the distance of 100 meters to 47 in half of the preparation and jumping high into the air. Back was arched as if drawing a bow, spear brought back like a javelin ready to be thrown, arm moving forward while fingers let metal slide through their grasp, the result sending what have been a red spear as a red comet streaking towards the other Lancer.

It was not a singular explosion that engulfed the strange being, but several dozens that blossomed across the suburban neighborhood they held the battle in, buildings obliterated outright with their occupants unaware of their passing, homes collapsing with their materials trapping their groggy residents underneath them and in some cases killing them through either sheer weight crushing bodies or by impaling through skin, muscle and bone. The Hound landed in a crouch, straightening and raising his right hand seconds before his spear blurred back into his palm, a small trail made in the dust cloud showing its path back to its owner slowly being obscured again.

Dust settled, the First Lancer widening his eyes in surprise at the battered, standing Second Lancer in the middle of a crater conjoined with three others, large cracks running along its form allowing pieces to fall away into dust, its clothing torn to shreds and weapon only half of what it once was. Half of the stone head was shorn off, their whereabouts unknown though it was easy assumed that it was just a part of the stone rubble, while half of the pole had broken and was situated in part of the crater farthest from him. Rock shifted, followed by the creature's body moving, more pieces of it falling to the ground and breaking apart as it began climbing out of the hole, reaching the top and lifting the remains of its 'hammer' at the First Lancer, a mutter came from the Irishman as he sped forward to engage again, 'How is he still standing?"

The Hound's demonic spear flashed brightly as it struck out repeatedly at his enemy, merely a red blur impacting the metal pole and impaling through the being's 'flesh' as it moved faster than the normal eye could see. Forty-seven strikes were sent, two-thirds of which made contact with the Second Lancer's body in what would normally be wounds ranging from scratches and minor cuts to gashes and holes in the grey 'skin', each wound letting a light amount of dust scatter into the air, the remaining third only let off sparks as they grazed against the other's weapon. An arm cocked back for the span of a millisecond before it was urged forward by its owner, polearm gleaming as it was stabbed forward, no resistance met for the span of a second until it pierced through 'flesh', both Servants stilling at what would normally be instant death.

However… the creature was not normal in the slightest, raising its weapon with one hand in retaliation for the stab though its eyesocket, the left hand quickly snatching the red spear and holding on in a vice-grip. "The hell are you?" Time slowed to a crawl milliseconds after the last word was spoken, the Irishman futily trying to pry Gáe Bolg from the being's grip with his expression shifting from a calm battle-lust to something akin to grim acceptance, then changing again to pain when the slab of rock smashed into his left side. A sickening crunch and multiple cracks sounded out, the Rogue Servant allowing the other Lancer to pull away, the former's head tilting to the side as it watched the First Lancer's face settle back into the expression it held before, only the eyes of the hero showing something else.

Laughter rang out, playing through the air filled to the brim with joy, the owner's foe looking at the man strangely while his Master felt confused from the connection, the laughter dying down as the blood-red spear rose to point at the Child-Demon. Left arm hanging limply the spear was drawn back, its name whispered quietly bearing a response of prana within the air freezing, his eyes closing as a breath was inhaled and exhaled. Once more its name was spoken, this time accompanied with a plume of 'flames' engulfing the head and upper shaft, a step forward taken with eyes snapping open, "**Gáe Bolg**!"

Both spearman and spear disappeared from sight, replaced by a red line that made straight for the Second Lancer, the creature shifting its weapon slightly and beginning a swing upwards. A clashing of metal sounded for less than a second as the red line was knocked skyward by the 'hammer', time coming to a still as only the former moved, twisting around the weapon's head and shaft, followed by the arm before it seemed to pause in front of where the heart would be found. Twin plumes of dust scattered, not a sound echoing in the air as the First stood before the Second, neither moving a muscle in the span of ten seconds.

A pebble clattered against the pavement, followed by another tiny fragment of the Second Lancer's weapon falling a second behind, cracking sounding as the being's head shifted sharply to the right, eyeless stare looking directly into the Hound's red. The Demon-Doll let its 'hammer' drop, right hand clutching its foe's weapon while the left clenched into a fist and was sent into the human's chest, another series of cracks and crunches sounding out, accompanied by a gasp and blood flying from his mouth. A second passed, another punch was sent and the man was sent flying without his spear, hurtling and tumbling through the concrete until he hit a burnt-out husk of a home fifty meters away, an indent of himself etched into the wall as he fell to the ground struggling to breathe.

The 'hammer' hit the ground, a dust cloud rising from where it laid, the spearman looking up at the noise only to find the other Lancer crouching in front of him, the silence coming from it eerie and under normal circumstances disturbing, as it was the man was barely moments from once more returning to the Throne and took no notice. Cú Chulainn watched as it placed his spear in front of him, kneeling down with both arms crossed over its knees and simply staring at the dying man, a weak chuckle let out from the spearman as his hand reached out and pat it on the head lightly. "You're a strange one… aren't you?"

His reply to the gesture and question was a simple one, that of a head tilting to the side as if confused, another chuckle leaving him before he was interrupted by a choking cough, a drop of blood leaving the corner of his mouth as he looked back into the eyeless face. "Thanks… for that good fight…" Gáe Bolg faded away unnoticed between the two, slowly followed by its owner as his eyes closed and breathing stilled, a single thought crossing his mind before he left Gaia again for the Throne. '_Heh… guess I won't be coming back Bazett… Sorry about that…'_ And with that the Hound of Ulster disappeared back into legend, first among the fourteen.

The Rogue Servant merely sat there amidst the ruins for several minutes, its weapon falling apart behind it as the prana sustaining the 'hammer' left, finally shifting as it got to its feet turning and ambling away from the destruction. She wouldn't be happy to have to clean up another of its messes, especially one of this scale, at the least she wouldn't have to deal with any witnesses or wild rumors, it would go around and deal with those that still lived so that she wouldn't have to. Plan of action set, the being vanished from sight to begin its short hunt.

_Wind howled alongside the bestial roar, the Outcast quickly moving to avoid the creature's claws as a musket appeared in hand and was shot, merely making a ping against the steel-like hide before the weapons disappeared and were replaced by another pair. Another swipe made her duck, a second had her rolling backwards before stumbling to her feet and a third struck her near at the base of her neck and lower face, another fresh scar oozing brown-red blood in addition to the others coating her body. Her breathing was ragged as she once more took aim, hoping that the Goddess's luck was with her or that one of the others in the pantheon took pity on her predicament, a crack of thunder and fire sounding out. A ping quickly overtaken by a growl plummeting her spirit even farther than it had been earlier._

_Suddenly the creature stopped its growling, backing away on its two feet in fear at something behind her, a quick glance making her freeze at the being that resided there, body locked with terror reserved for knowing of something and knowing that never will it be defeated. _He_ wore white robes that covered his body, sigils of the First and Second Gods design etched into the hem and cuffs, each one shifting to another within seconds before her eyes, a black staff in _his_ metallic hands and naught but shadow under his hood._

_Once more the Devil came to play._

_It lasted less than fifteen seconds, the creature attempting to strike in adrenaline-induced fervor, each strike knocked aside with ease of centuries upon centuries of experience. A sound reminiscent of a sword leaving its sheathe sounded out, a crescent blade of pure black metal unfurling from within the staff and in a single swing the creature was bisected with a shower of sparks. _He_ turned to look towards her, looking over the shaking human before he planted his staff into the ground and reached under its robes, pulling out relic from its past and throwing it underhanded at her slowly, another slowly joined the metal musket with edges along the barrel meant to act like a blade. Without a word the mortal Devil known as the Reaper left her still shaking, not even telling why it gave her the weapons nor why it saved her._

_15 days after the start of the 5th war-_

Her eyes hardened when she noticed the house, blue eyes narrowing slightly while her Servant materialized next to her, heterochromic eyes watching the Master with a blank stare and the sound of giggling and sobbing heard around them. Beyond the sound of the rabbit puppets, the walk up to the front door was silent, the air around them humming slightly with minute amounts of Prana. Two knocks rapped on the door, the creaking of wood letting both know of a presence on the other side.

Slowly the door opened, a boy one year older than the Master greeting her, disgust slowly leaving his face to be replaced by a mask of arrogance hiding a speck of fear. She expected his question of, "Why are you here?", putting on a slightly happy façade up while speaking with to her cousin. "I'm here to talk with Matou-sama about an event that occurred 11 years ago. May I come in, dear cousin?

The boy blinked a few times before the last part registered, taking his time to try and identify her while letting her in through the doorway. Walking in brought back the memories of that night for the Master, the old man dragging her into the pits below, summoning her first Servant along with those words that ingrained themselves into her head. She shook her head slightly, looking over at Shinji before a frown replaced her smile and coldness took over her voice. "You should leave Shinji, Kariya-ojii-san is waiting at the road."

Once more it took the boy a few moments to comprehend the sentence, his face narrowing in fury and about to yell at the girl when the Caster's rabbits spoke, "You should listen to Master and leave, or else you might die…" "Either from us or your grandfather, we won't care if you become a bloody splatter on the ground." The white rabbit giggled madly after its words, scaring the boy and making him about to leave after an internal debate when a voice stopped him cold, fear making its way onto his face and shivers being slightly noticed if one looked.

"I wasn't expecting visitors, especially not my granddaughter, otherwise I would have had a meal prepared for dinner. But assuming from your posture and expression, you wouldn't have taken me up on that offer, wouldn't you Sakura?" A smirk was plastered over the elder Matou's face, both girls held a stoic glare or gaze at the man, both puppets quietening and becoming limp. The twin puppets slid off the Caster's hands, both latching onto her dress with one 'hand' and hanging there, two wooden rods appearing from her sleeves and grasped in hand. The man's smirk did not disappear at the young Master's words of, "Caster, kill him.", nor did it fade when the 1st Caster leapt at him from across the hallway.

An audible thunk was heard, white and black metal meeting the brown wood, green eyes met with one red and one blue eye. The Matou child's frown grew slightly bigger when the Assassin's form faded into existence, the air around it holding a melancholic feel to it while the Servant merely held the Keeper of Rabbits back instead of pushing forward. The Rabbit Keeper leapt back from the other Servant, axe blades forming on the rods to look like hatchets.

Both Servants stood across from one another, each waiting on their respective Masters' signal to engage, the younger of the two asking her 'Grandfather' a question. "I was not expecting you to summon a Servant, Matou-_sama_, did you happen to steal him from another or pick him up off the street?" The last part was said with minor parts of sarcasm, so it was surprising when the old man nodded his head while the air around his Servant became slightly dejected.

"Indeed, I am not one to involve myself with the affairs of the Holy Grail War, however passing by a Servant while it killed someone else was just too good an opportunity to pass up." The next part was said with laughter coming from his mouth, disgust making its way onto the girl's face, and a deep frown appearing on her Servant's face and that of her puppets. "It was rather simple to bind it to me considering my, or rather our, line. And while I would love to continue this talk, I have business to attend to, so Assassin kill them both." With those words he turned around and proceeded further into the manor, the Assassin looking as apologetic as its form allowed before spasming and rushing forward.

Directly before the Rabbit and Executioner clashed, Sakura looked back to see if her cousin was still behind her, letting out a small sigh of relief when she could not see him. The clash of axe on sword brought her attention back to the fight, startled to see the 1st Assassin upside down in the air with one sword holding both axes back and the other trying to cut off an arm. Next to be startled was the Assassin, only slightly however, when a wall of ice appeared and trapped the white sword within blue-white crystal.

The sword was left to its place, the other pushing the axes back, taking the lone sword and cutting the ice in half, the right hand once more taking the white sword in hand. Without warning, the being leapt back and went through the wall, neither of the two remaining surprised after what had occurred just earlier. With a small scowl on her face, the Master of Caster moved in the direction her 'Grandfather' had disappeared to, the Caster following behind weapons at the ready.

The halls were silent beyond the echoing of footsteps, both Servant and Master cautious and looking out for either of their opponents. A sword phased through the ceiling, an axe blocking it inches from its wielder's Master, her form flinching barely when the weapon's distance was registered. The Executioner's blade returned to the ceiling, ice forming where it phased from and shattered, taking the floor with it and showing the story above, completely devoid of anything. They continued on, a sense of paranoia growing slightly greater as they continued onward and the Assassin continued its guerilla warfare, a full seven more attacks waged until they reached the stairway leading into the catacombs.

The Master's paranoia rose when she heard the skittering around them, alongside the non-existent attacks from the Assassin. The Old Master was waiting for them when they reached the bottom, still with a smirk on his face while his Servant materialized behind him, hands and swords twitching as if its body was at odds with its mind.

After a few moments the source of the skittering was discovered, hundreds if not thousands of insects covering the floor and writhing around the stones, slowly creeping forward, at an unspoken signal they surged forward, a mass of flesh rising to devour the two foes of their creator. Most in the front were caught unaware of the Caster's spell, ice trapping a few dozen in crystalline structures while even more sought to clamber over, breaking the ice and their 'kin' below them from their combined weight.

The worms drew closer and closer, until only a few meters were between them and the Caster and her Master, a single word left her lips holding no emotion, "Burn…" without pause or warning the left axe burst into flames and was embedded into the ground. Fire spread out around them, the crackling of the flames making a dysfunctional harmony with the 'screaming' of the worms and the old man.

Slowly the Caster got back up, frost spreading out from her feet and freezing the flames in place along with the creatures held in their embrace, a light snow falling for a moment as all became quiet. It was broken by the mad laughter of the white rabbit, still able to talk despite not being connected to a hand, and a single word from its master. "Shatter…" At the word the entirety of the crystals of frost exploded into a fine powder along with their occupants, red and white mist falling to the ground between the two Servants.

Both were relaxed despite their proximity to one another, one holding blades of ghostly steel, the other holding a burning and chilling axe in either hand. They began their battle without another word, both finally able to do injury upon their foe, fire scorching and ice freezing sections of the Executioner's robes and showing the spectral skeleton underneath while its swords managed to carve cuts across the Keeper's flesh. Blood, both transparent and red as a normal human, flew for second before being smashed into by a weapon, random splatters appearing along the walls, floor and stairs.

The Assassin flinched a moment, disappearing for a moment before appearing in front of Sakura, right sword rising up alongside a stream of red liquid. A few seconds later and a scream of pain echoed out, the girl's right arm covering the wound as best as it could while she tried to back away only to stumble to the ground. A voice, shaking in rage called out from the shadows, steps echoing along with it in the precious few seconds, "You idiotic Servant, I told you to take off her right arm, not the left one!"

The creature began shaking, turning and hurling the bloodied blade towards something unseen, impacting something with the sound of breaking glass and flesh pierced. The voice once more called out, weaker with even more rage tainting the voice of the old man. "Y-y-yo-ou-u! Da-mnab-le Ser-vant! Ki-ll… Your…self…" The voice faded and the sound of stone meeting skin echoed throughout the caverns, yet it managed to convey the last command.

With resignation and relief marking its motions, the Executioner fell to its 'knees', raising the swords to point at his chest. Slowly the blades were plunged into the ghost's body, transparent liquid flowing from the sword wounds until they managed to completely impale through his body, slumping forward while a ghostly heart stopped beating on the blunt ends of the executioner's swords. None watched the end of the Executioner, the only two witnesses ascending the stairs in an effort to save the Master's life.

Fire cauterized the wound closed, while ice then banished it away and chilled the flesh to numb. Her Master was pale, a major amount of blood lost in the seconds it took to get to her and close the wound, the Master needed to go back to her uncle before her condition worsened or else she would die. She did not bother finding her way through the corridors and simply froze and burned through the walls until she was through the door, fire consuming the mansion and all of its secrets and horrors.

It was for naught though, she could feel the connection between them close, looking at the face of her Master to see it set in a peaceful look while her uncle rushed over with the cousin walking behind slowly. Gently she set down Sakura's body and stepped back with head bowed, the black rabbit's sobbing conveying the meaning clearly enough as she began to fade into prana. She watched as the man broke down into crying at the sight of his niece, while the boy looked shocked at her passing.

She did not get to see the man take her Master's body away, nor of the boy crying along with the man. Her body was nearly gone already, only the voices of the Lea and Ael able to be heard anymore as she faded back to death. "It's time to go back, I'm sleepy." Ael was the first to fade away fully, gone before she could say goodnight to the little rabbit. "I'm tired Usagi, is it okay if I go to sleep?" Lea managed to stay long enough to hear her reply, laughing softly before she too disappeared. All she saw was the void, and she felt herself fading away once more like her first death, her last thoughts simply being, "I don't… like being alone…"

_It was an endless winter, the time when spring was supposed to come did not occur, and so the grove became abandoned beyond her and the two with her. She hardly felt the cold, only worried about the ones she kept safe from harm, knowing they would die if they kept to their burrows any longer._

_Years passed by, loneliness setting in even with Ael and Lea at her side when none of her companions left their homes. Each year the temperature dropped lower and lower until even she felt the cold seeping into her bones, to the point she was sure none had survived above ground and those within the depths were close to death._

_They grew tired, first was Ael to sleep, her voice suddenly absent amidst the conversation and no amount of nudging making her wake up. Next was Lea, asking if she could take a nap which was granted, several days later and she was forced to realize only she was left in the grove. She didn't leave her home once throughout the years she stood there, finally letting her eyes close for the last time, a muttered phrase leaving her lips before she stilled._

"_I don't want… to be alone."_

_AN: Before I forget, to those who read ANs, I wish you all a happy Christmas to come, until the next time._

_**Edit: As of 4/16/16 The first set of interactions have been added. Grammar has been addressed across the chapters.**_


	5. Part 4

_AN: I'm not surprised by the lack of reviews I've gained with this story, It's not necessarily going to get many because of it only being combat scenes right now and I know and understand that, that will be remedied at some point, hopefully before the next Summer's end. Regardless, This is the final part to this story, and I don't expect many of you to… enjoy what I had for this ending, but I thought it a fitting end for a Fate fiction. So without anything further, I hope you enjoy_

_Disclaimer: The Fate series belongs to Kinoko Nasu, while Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, the character Blackwing belongs to Lupine Horror, the servants 2nd Saber, 2nd Berserker, 1st Caster, 1st Archer, 2nd Lancer, 1st Assassin, 1st Rider and Ruler and any other characters from Dreaas belong to me._

_Fifteen days after the start of the 5th war-_

The café's atmosphere was… tense to put it mildly, the only good point being there were hardly any other customers to notice at this early in the morning. The First Rider and his Master had been enjoying a break from the War, with the latter trying to understand her Servant by asking various questions about himself or his past, to little success on either topic. Halfway through their cups another Servant arrived, the newcomer and Master tensing when they caught sight of one another while the Rider merely beckoned the First Saber over to join them, his usual melancholy limited to his half-lidded eyes. The lone male kept his smile in place as the other Servant sat down and looked directly at him, words spoken the moment she was seated, "Good morning to you, King of Knights, how was yesterday?"

His reply first came with a narrowing of eyes and a slight frown marking her face for a second before she settled back into indifference, the Rider's Master becoming uncomfortable as silence stretched on for many seconds until finally she spoke tersely yet politely. "Good morning to you, Rider. I have no wish to speak of last night's events, do not ask of the subject again." The Rider simply tilted his forward in acknowledgement to her words, staying silent as another cup of tea was placed in front of the Saber by a server, not bothered by the silence as his Master was. "I wish to ask a question of you, as a foreign king to a foreign knight, if you would indulge me."

Two seconds given to think before the Noble gave a nod in response and waited for the King's question, uttered after a short sip of her tea, "From what you know of my legend and myself, do you believe that I was the best choice for my kingdom?" A light chuckle was her first answer, the sound unexpected to her given the serious nature of her question, yet she waited passively for the Knight to still and answer her, unwilling to possibly sway an honest opinion of an outsider. After three seconds he stopped his small bout of laughter, setting his cup down on the table before taking a breath and closing his eyes, finally beginning to give his answer when his eyes opened again.

"As a King, you are undoubtedly amongst the greatest. You would sacrifice all that you are and were to make sure your people remain safe, including your connections to humanity, your emotions and dreams. As a Human, you are amongst one of the worst examples. Humans allow emotion, ideals and dreams to guide them on their paths, and you forsook two of those three to lead your people. You… are a great king, and your reign was perhaps the greatest of any kingdom, despite it falling shortly after your death, yet… as a human you could not connect with those you ruled over, and you drove many of your knights and people away, including the one who you may, or may not recognize as your blood." The man paused for the moment, taking another breath as well as waiting to see if the Saber would give a response to what he had said, receiving only a slight motion to continue on.

"I have only seen two kings in my short lifetime, both of which put their people before themselves, similar to yourself. However, both kept what little humanity they could remotely call their own clutched tight, they kept their emotions close, savored their small dreams and were led onward by their ideals of protecting their family and people. They were not as perfect as you when it came to being a King, nor did they care about what they considered trivial, they made mistakes as all humans and those like them are inclined to do." A shake of his head removed distant memories of both kings from his life, his tea picked up again and sipped lightly before he finished the last part of his answer.

"You were a great King, Arthur, out of all the possible choices your kingdom had for a king, you were the best choice, with the next best choice being the one many call the Knight of Treachery in my eyes." Barely he heard the light clack of the Saber's cup setting down on the table, his eyes first moving to the now-empty cup then to the peaceful-looking King seeming to be in great thought over his answer. Slowly she opened her eyes before standing up from her seat, giving a nod of thanks before leaving him and his Master to themselves to continue their prior conversation, seemingly satisfied with the answer she had received.

Both Riders stood across from one another, their Masters at their side willing to stay with them for the coming battle, an air of cheer and melancholy surrounding the four individuals as they drew their weapons. The Second among the two Riders let out a chuckle while his blade was pointed towards the ground in between them, the First moving slowly to take a kneeled pose with his sword embedded in the ground and hands upon the pommel, "You never did answer me the first time if you would accept my offer of friendship. Would you mind answering before we do anything further?" A brief period of silence passed for ten seconds before the First Rider rose from his kneeling, right hand gripping the hilt and pulling it from the ground to lazily point at the other Servant, a sad smile in place with eyes closed.

"I promised my Master that I would serve her until my second death comes to pass, besides that I told you and several of the others what I wished of the Grail, and that takes precedent over everything except the wellbeing of Master." The Greek Conqueror nodded his head twice before focusing back on the First Rider, a cheerful yet sad smile adorning him, his blade dropping to point at his feet before it was raised suddenly without warning, an air of mystery surrounding him as he began to speak. "That is too bad other Rider, I wish it hadn't come down to this but let us begin our fight…" A heavy wind blew through the street from behind the Second Rider, ruffling the cloth each individual wore as prana became dense enough to feel, the Conqueror-King letting out a shout to end the words he spoke moments earlier, "Ionioi Hetairoi!"

A sphere of light expanded outwards from the cheerful king, engulfing the area around him and four beings before depositing them in the desert of mysteries and secrets, only one among the four going into a slight shock at the sight of the Reality Marble. The clanking of metal sounded out as the King's army approached, cresting over the dunes and letting out cheers and shouts as they spotted their friend and king, the man mounting his beloved steed as it was brought to him. The young Magus took three steps back upon seeing the army, her Servant simply moving to kneel once more, the sword planted firmly within the shifting sand as he began to whisper into the air, "You who followed me to Death's embrace, I ask of you, will you help me this once so that we may have a chance of redemption?" Silence was all that greeted him, then the cheering and shouting stilled from those of the Conqueror-King's army while the Servant himself held a semi-surprised expression on his face, the girl turning around to find something that chilled her more than seeing the army of red and silver.

Black and blue armored figures filled with despair and melancholy stood like statues behind the Noble of Ronde, rectangular shields held in the left hand with swords and crossbows held in the right, not a sound uttered from them or their armor as they waited for orders. The man rose from his place upon the ground, walking back towards those he led both in life and now in death before he stopped suddenly upon noticing the 'stallion' directly in front of the front row, the beast unnatural in both color and existence. Its skin was predominantly blue with black markings along the face while white markings marked where the bones where underneath, its tail and mane colored violet with red tips while the creature was smaller than most domesticated horses, in length, height and girth. A sigh left the knight as he reached the horse, left hand brushing against the neck of the horse before he once more whispered to the Phantasmal Creature, "Hello old friend, are you going to allow me on your back again?" It gave a snort before bowing its head slightly, another sigh leaving the man before he climbed on top of the horse, riding bare-back like he had every other time in this life and the last.

"I'm sorry Master…" The voice was unexpected to be addressed to the Edefelt heir, the teen looking over at her Servant as he gave her the sad smile he was known for, an air of weariness and resignation settling around him as he cut off any response he could have gained. "I'm going to die by this night's end no matter the outcome of this battle, simply being on this horse has condemned me just as it did at the end of my first life, and for that I am sorry. Sorry for leaving you behind so soon, sorry for making you put your trust in me to win, sorry for making you give up your wish for my own… I'm so very sorry Master."

Five seconds passed before the heir composed herself enough to speak, face hardening into a emotionless mask that almost covered the girl's sadness entirely before she gave a simple shake of the head. "You have no need to be sorry Rider, just… win this last battle so we can part on peaceful terms. And if you die before then…" She trailed off as she caught sight of a trickle of happiness in his gaze, the man giving her a nod before beckoning her to move away as to not get involved in the crossfire, the First Rider looking back across the sands as a yell resounded through the air, answered by a roar and the rustling of armor moving.

A low whiney was the only sound mustered from the Endakai, their sole horse rearing up before trotting forward, the men behind it moving forward in concert like one would imagine from machines going to war rather than humans. Bows and crossbows were raised into the air, the weapons held at the ready on both sides before they were loosed, the projectiles becoming nothing but black dots among the clear sky, eventually nearing the ground again to rain upon the two contrasting armies. Pained shouts and screams echoed out for mere seconds before they were silenced, those among the army of the Conqueror-King stumbling or falling to the ground before fading back into prana while those of the Endakai collapsed to the ground, the air around the soon to be corpse turning cheerful for the split-second before they too faded back into prana.

The army of blue and black stilled, the front row kneeling down and rotating their shields ninety degrees to form a short wall of metal hardly two feet tall, while those behind leveled their unfired crossbows at the advancing army of red and silver. Another whiney left the unnatural horse as it reared up again, bolting forward the moment it touched the ground towards the army with its rider, a concert of twangs ringing out as the bolts were left to fly into metal and flesh. Bows were nocked and loosed, javelins hefted up and thrown in retaliation, soldiers falling silently among both sides to disappear back to their respective afterlife, a warcry let out from the head of the Conqueror's army followed by an answering roar, the King riding out to meet the Noble half-way.

Steel flashed out from both Servants, white and grey blurs meeting with a resounding clang before they rebounded back, both horsemen continuing on towards their opposing army unheeding of the leveling of weapons to deter them from continuing. Another warcry tore from the Second Rider's throat, his beloved horse leaping above the 'wall', those behind it moving to meet the Heroic Spirit losing their heads from the short spatha lashing out, the Servant wheeling his horse and charging into the center of the 'dark' army. The King's opposite simply allowed his horse to lead him where it wished, the creature's body phasing through every weapon that tried to kill it while its rider deflected the weapons away from his body, twice pointing his weapon at a man before twitching his finger, a crack followed by smoke erupting from the hilt before the target fell into prana from the shot to the heart.

The army of the Conqueror-King kept advancing despite the Servant in their ranks causing chaos and the occasional death, still firing and being fired upon by projectiles whose number blacked out the sky for a single second with each volley, the men reaching the 'wall' and beginning their fight in earnest with their grief-filled enemies. Spear punched through armor, sword cut through flesh and wood, shields were bashed into other beings as well as used to protect their own owner, metal ground against metal, wood struck hollow and shattered into fragments, bits of clockwork machinery destroyed after repeated blows.

A single minute went by in what felt like only a sixth of the time, ending with almost a full ten thousand gone in the battle, another two thousand five hundred lost to the missile rain of both sides, the sands slowly becoming home to a sea of red tinted with violet. Both Servants ran amok among one another's army, the King of Conquerors losing his horse to two well-aimed bolts shortly before he decapitated both crossbowmen, cheerful enthusiasm still kept despite the beings he fought alongside his friends. The First Rider still was mounted upon his steed, every attempt to kill the creature met with failure and a strike killing the attacker, three cartridges spent firing into the discouraged men before he wheeled his mount back and galloped back to his own army.

Another man was cut down by Iskandar, the hero turning to find his immediate area void of foes until his opposite rode up on his unnatural horse, proceeding to dismount the Phantasmal Creature whereupon it vanished from existence. Sad smile met cheerful grin, a kick of dust from where both were prior as they charged without any words spoken, sand parting as the pistol-sword's tip touched the desert earth while the spatha was held aloft. Yet another warcry tore from the Second Rider as they both swung their weapon, sparks flying into the air alongside the ring of steel as metal met metal, both swords rebounding from the contact before moving to come from the opposite side. The First's shield rose up momentarily, ground upon by the short sword as his own blade moved to cut through the King's right shoulder, a small step back leaving only a minor gash along the flesh followed by a step forward along with a large amount of strength before the shield was pried from the armor and sent flying a short distance away.

A leap back by the Knight in an attempt to gain distance was for naught, the Conqueror-King keeping up and continuing to attack only to find each strike deflected with little effort. One slash found itself overextending the Second Rider, right hand flying away from the Knight with the sword held barely between the fingers, the pistol-sword rising into the air before falling straight down, a spray of blood splashing along the First Rider's face and right torso while a light muffled thud was let out as the left arm hit the ground. The Servant of Gaia backed away slowly, the smile found on his face both sad and happy as his and his army's Reality Marble faded away alongside both armies, leaving both Servants and Masters alone in the house-lined road illuminated only by the streetlights spaced infrequently.

A moment passed then ten before they both relaxed, simply standing across from one another as their Masters came forward, the Magus of the Clocktower getting into a conversation with his King while the Edelfelt heir merely stood beside her Servant, locking her gaze with his and saying only one sentence. "Don't forget your promise Rider… stay alive until the end of tonight." A nod was her only answer alongside a pat on the head, quickly gaining an indignant look from his Master, the Knight switching his sword to the left hand before holding it out to point at the other Servant. Chuckling sounded out before becoming short-lived laughter, the wounded Servant leaving behind his crying friend and subordinate, letting out one more cry as he ran forward without any hesitation.

The distance was crossed in seconds, time seemingly slowing as the Second drew closer to the first, the latter reaching to his left shoulder with his free hand and grasping the white cloth hanging from his shoulder, tearing the cloak from its place and throwing it in-between the two Riders. No movement was made until it reached a meter between them both, a swing sent out diagonally with the spatha tearing through the fabric before slamming against metal, two halves separating on either side of the crossed swords. A light amount of strength was applied to send the pistol-sword back towards its owner, the smaller sword darting forward into a parry whose result nearly mirrored the earlier avoided attacks, a quick recovery managing to return the sword in time to block the blow aimed at his neck.

A sidestep made by the First allowed the Second's blade to pass inches away from his body, his own weapon rising to chest height parallel to the ground before it was sent forward, the King attempting to block the stab as it neared his form. A single second passed by indiscriminately, silence playing its unheard melody before it was interrupted by a splash of a droplet hitting pavement. Another droplet of red liquid fell from the stained white blade, rivulets of blood slowly collecting at its tip before falling off into the tiny pool below, a pained chuckle came from the larger man, blood leaving the left corner of his mouth much like a tear, before a simple question was asked of the Knight, "Why didn't you use the last bullet in your sword to make sure I died, just as you and the Berserker said you had done at your ending?"

His reply was quick to come as he slowly drew his sword from the other man, blood twisting and curving along the surface as gravity beckoned them down, taking a single step back as the blade was fully removed from the King's body, "I will not desecrate another body of a human about to die… Even if it means they must suffer a short time longer, I will not shoot a bullet into a dying man's body." The sword was placed back in the First Rider's right hand, the relic allowed to slip through his fingers as he closed his eyes and gave a bright smile, clattering against the ground to the confusion of those around, the object dissipating into motes of blue light seconds after hitting the ground. Still smiling the Knight sat down, joined by his dying enemy whose eyes held a saddened knowing light to them, "… To think… Prana exhaustion was how I would die."

Those words froze his Master, the girl jumping at the clatter of her Servant's left arm completely faded away, the armor staying long enough to hit the ground before disappearing as well, the right hand holding a simple cup that was given to the King of Conquerors. "I very much wish we had met in Life, or even I had known of you Iskandar… I do believe I would have taken you up on your offer had we been not fighting for the Grail…" A nod was his reply, the Conqueror downing the entire cup in one go before giving it back to the Noble, both keeping their smiles despite their bodies both now disappearing back to the Throne. "That makes me happy to hear, Kizuko of Ronde, perhaps another time we can fight beside one another…" The great man's head dipped slightly eyes closing as he did, once more Iskandar died.

The First Rider watched as his counterpart's corpse faded away, his right leg and armor collapsing into prana as well before he beckoned his Master forward with his remaining hand, "I kept my promise Master… Is there anything you require before I have to leave?" A twinge of sadness went through her being, bringing a hand to his arm and slowly moving it back to his lap while beginning to kneel down, slowly shaking her head as a tear welled up in the corner of her eye. "No… no I do not Rider… And thank you for keeping that promise." A nod was his only reply, relief apparent in his features as the words were spoken, his eyes closing for a moment before opening again to look up at the cloud-covered sky, letting only a portion of the moon's light through.

"I see… Then I guess it is time to say goodbye… Master… Take care…" His emerald eyes closed for the last time on Gaia's world, his form rapidly disintegrating into motes of prana that swirled around the Edelfelt once before moving upwards into the sky, Kizuko still completing every one of his promises made. Luvia made a slightly startled jump as she was brought back from watching her Servant's remains by the Lord El-Melloi II approached her, staring up as the two streams of prana from both Servants faded entirely, speaking with a wistful tone before gazing at her. "You wish that he could have stayed with you, don't you Edelfelt?"

A nod was his only answer, a hollow laugh leaving him before he took out a cigar and lit it before turning away, walking down the street only three meters before turning to regard the other magus, "Well, I don't suppose you should stay in the street until morning, you're welcome to leave back to your mansion or come along to continue this one-sided conversation at my humble home." With those last words the man kept walking, leaving behind the girl who picked herself mentally and left as well in the opposite direction, none but them allowed to witness the skirmish of two armies completely different from one another.

_The world was soaked in the blood of thousands, a myriad of color staining the monotone white and black grass into something beautiful, it was angry as the skies were lit pink from the setting sun, clouds grey and crackling with unrestrained lightning and thunder. This was not a battle, nor was it a massacre or genocide, it closest resembled a war meant to be fought and ended in a single day, four among the nations of Dreaas sending their troops to fight against the Outcast-King and his family of twelve brothers and sisters. He was the only Noble who had come from the Endakai, the others consumed with grief over the betrayal of trust they had committed, even he felt it yet he was bound to duty first before his own desires, riding forward atop the damned horse until he reached the battle._

_He dismounted the charger, patting its mane slightly before moving forward while drawing his weapon, he and those who followed him moving towards the great melee ahead, intent fully on completing their task or perishing in the completion of it. Time lost meaning the moment he entered the battlefield, walking atop the corpses piled unnaturally to hide the grass, past the men and women rushing to fight one member or another that remained of Kodomo's family, through the flames of azure, emerald and ruby. The only one he was even remotely willing to fight was the King himself, and that was only because of the duty that bound him._

_He found him after only what felt a short time walking straight ahead, cutting down another even with a dozen whole weapons impaled into him with arrows numbering in the dozens making him a _human_ pincushion. The sword he carried was raised, aimed at the boy's chest and allowed to belch fire and smoke, sound of metal ripping apart flesh sounding alongside that of blood splattering along the armor of corpses. The Monster that Protected turned, his hood down so the content pale yellow eyes stared directly into melancholic bright green, before stumbling almost drunkenly forward, only a quarter of the speed that was normal of the child. A clumsy slash was deflected to the side, his sword arcing to block the returning swing swung at 'normal' speed, his shield held up before brought forward to bash into the child sending him tumbling head-over-heels, each weapon embedding itself further and drawing _red_ blood from the wound._

_A cough made the child spit out several globules of red liquid before once more rushing forward uncaring of the consequences, a swing left with the shield sending the white katana flying into the masses around them, both of the Noble's hands grasping the hilt as a tear welled up in his left eye. His arms pulled back, aligning the sword with its target before pushed forward, effortlessly cutting through muscle and bone and through the other side, a click heard before a sharp crack of the pistol fired off. Both of the child's arms fell loosely to his sides, then struggling he brought it up to Kizuko's face wiping away the unshed tear and gave a warm smile unbefitting of the situation, three words spoken softly for only them two to hear, "I… forgive… you…" The sword was removed from its prison, the owner surprised for a half-second to see the child continue standing without any support before he remembered who the boy was, kneeling down and looking up with closed eyes moments before he lost all thought, the Shadow killing him to avenge the King._

_Sixteen days after start of the 5th war-_

The priestess kneeled in front of the altar, eyes closed and hands together in prayer, the little one wandering around the yard outside the church, meandering around to pass the time before she was allowed to play with it again. Without warning she felt a flash of fear from the little one, along with sensing a Servant and Master coming up to the church.

She did not stop in her prayer at the sound of the door creaking open, nor of the clicking of a gun being armed. Seconds passed by before she finished, standing up and turning around to face the two that had come before her. What met here gaze was the First Berserker and her Master, the latter holding his shotgun pointed at her and the former looking around for someone or something.

Not overly concerned with the two in front of her, she spoke with a calm grace, head tilted to the side, eyes closing slightly and a small smile in place. "Considering that the one next to you has yet to fade away you have come for a reason other than sanctuary, perhaps religious enlightenment?" The man let out a low chuckle at the words while shaking his head, a smile matching the girl's.

The laughter quietened within seconds of beginning, the man bringing up the shotgun at his side to point at her, "No I haven't, I've come to kill you at the behest of another, apparently you're not playing by the rules." The man let out a sigh, the Servant beside him summoning her sword and holding it in one hand.

The girl did not react to the weapon aimed at her, continuing on in the same voice as before, "I see, well I guess the ruse is up. Lancer." The two at the front of the church had enough time to look behind them to see the 'doll-demon', painted and eyeless face sending a shiver of terror down each of their spines for a mere moment.

A second passed, and the Lancer's 'hammer' impacted against the Berserker's chest, the force behind the blow sending her into the ceiling, debris falling down alongside smoke. Another second went by, the Lancer's weapon sailed over the man, only missing through a quick reaction started the moment the Lancer was called. The dust cleared away from the ceiling, the Berserker standing upside-down before launching herself back at the 'doll-demon' with sword held in both hands.

A clang of metal on metal resounded through the holy place, occasionally the harsh scraping of stone and metal echoing out instead. The 'hammer' and Clarent collided with one another constantly, each strike sending the other combatant sliding or flying back every few blows, pews splintering into pieces and bricks crushed into dust with each miss.

The Mediator and Master of Lancer watched the battle taking place in front of her with a grace normally not found in children, a bang echoing out from the other Master's weapon making her turn slightly to the noise. The projectiles made of bone sailed through the air, stopping suddenly when they collided against red fabric, the cloth itself wrapping around the 'bullets' and holding them tightly. The man once more sighed, rifling through one of his pockets for something as the cloth unraveled allowing the projectiles to fall to the ground, eventually grasping something even as the shotgun was aimed to the side and fired.

The sword clashed with the 'hammer', a large piece of the stone head sheared off and sent careening into a pillar, a cracking noise hardly heard over the din of combat. With the piece of the weapon gone, the Lancer swung faster than before, each strike holding more force than before slightly surprising the Berserker as she was rocketed through the weakened pillar, more debris falling between the two and allowing the moonlight to shine into the church.

The Knight of Treachery rolled with the impact, getting up and swinging her blade to meet the concrete mace, both Servants skidding backwards and standing still, one breathing heavily and holding a hand to her stomach, the other merely staring at the other before inspecting its weapon. The knight brought up her sword, the tip pointed at the Lancer's heart, her received reply was the creature twirling the remainder of its 'hammer' until it was draped across its shoulders, a tilt of its head infuriating the Berserker and making her charge her opponent with a growl.

Another bark of the shotgun echoed out, its payload flying in all directions in an attempt to cause injury to the Mediator, each projectile caught by the red cloth wrapped around her left arm. She leapt back to avoid the second volley, the mantle dropping its bound objects and capturing as many of the new volley as it could, one managing to slip by and graze the priestess's cheek, causing a nauseating sense to fall over her for a moment before she recovered.

Without preamble the man brought his left out of his pocket, a magus's heart clutched in his hand, casually throwing the object at his foe, fully expecting the next event to take place. He was unsurprised when the cloth wrapped around the grenade, nor was he surprised when the cloth billowed out for a moment then tearing apart from the explosion contained. He was surprised when the girl remained calm, not flinching even as the holy mantle returned only an eighth of its original size.

Before more could be decided from their fight, the Berserker flew into the middle of their battleground, the Lancer right behind with only the metal pole remaining of its weapon. Even with the main part of its weapon gone the being held its own, the speed of each strike made up for the lack of power held. With a well-timed sweep the Berserker was lifted off the ground for a moment, then sent flying into her Master and out of the church by punch to the chest.

The Servant still remaining in the church looked over at its Master, becoming reassured by the smile directed its way and the hand held out to him. Hand in hand the two child-like ones left through the hole in the church out into the moonlight, coming to gaze at the Berserker attempting to stand back up with her sword embedded in the ground and both hands on the handle, her Master using a nearby tombstone to help himself up.

From each of the Servants' appearances one could tell that the amount of fighting they had done was on a level beyond what they normally would do. The Lancer's clothing was torn apart to the point that only a sleeve of its shirt remained, its grey-skinned form marked with multiple gashes and the bottom right portion of its head missing, while the Berserker's armor was dented in multiple places and ruptured in occasionally, a single rupture allowing her eye to gaze hatefully at the Lancer.

She got up slowly, helmet retracting back into her armor as she did, releasing her stolen blade from the ground before holding it like her father had done with the Sword of Promised Victory. The silver blade was covered in an aura of crimson transforming into a blade fit only for a demon, a wave of hatred and anger with an underlying loneliness seeping out from her. With gritted teeth she let out the first part of the Noble Phantasm, "**Clarent**…" then with a step forward she spoke the second. "**Blood**…"

With a yell and a swing of the sword down the Noble Phantasm was released for the world to see. "**ARTHUR**!" A wave of red leapt from the blade, a crescent moon of energy headed towards the Lancer and its Master. With little warning the Servant grabbed the priestess, twirling once and throwing her clear of the wave of energy, the last thing she saw of the being was it waving with an innocence bordering child-like. She did not weep when the light faded and nothing remained of her home and Servant, nor when the markings upon her hand dimmed.

She watched as the Berserker fell to her knees, parts of her body fading away into prana while she looked up into the sky, her sword leaving her hands. A single hand was raised to the sky and moon above, looking to be reaching for something before it fell down and scattered into prana followed by the rest of her body. Caren didn't react when the man hobbled in front of her, the shotgun aimed at her head, a look of melancholy upon his face. "Perhaps… I may take you up on your offer, another time."

The girl smiled, and a bang echoed out through Fuyuki.

_It was a nightmare come to life. Blue, red and black fires raging across the city of Angels, Demons and Grigori, black shadow-like creatures roaming the streets and alleyways looking for remaining living four. Only the Great Kings and the unknown one yet lived, the kings on death's door with the child-like being acting as their last guard._

_The door shook and rattled, inhuman screams howling for blood heard from outside. The doll-demon looked back at the ones that sheltered it from the rest of the realm, eyeless gaze sweeping over them before it walked over. Each king was given a hug, the meaning of it not lost upon them as the stone door buckled from the strain put upon it by the horrors outside._

_The King of Angels smiled serenely, her eyepatch lost showing the pitch-black eye hidden behind the silver metal, hand stroking the grey skin of the creature gently, "I guess it's time to say goodbye, isn't it little Ningyō?" A simple nod was all she received for an answer, leading to her closing her eyes and her breathing stilling, her life gone from the wounds suffered in her chest and shoulder. _

_The King of Demons picked himself off the ground, claymore holding him up even as his legs trembled. His free hand reached out, patting the creature's head for a moment before returning to his side, "All things come to an end little one, remember that in your last moments upon this blessed and forsaken realm." The claymore was lifted from the ground, black flames burning into existence along the blade before running along the armor's form, the sword pointed at the doorway and lingering there._

_The King of the Grigori walked over, stave clicking along the ground with each step until he was before the child, kneeling down and giving a smile to the boy and slipping the necklaces he always wore over the boy's head. "I've been meaning to give you these, I think that they better suit you then me, little one." He looked over at the King of Demons, smiling despite the situation the three found themselves in, "I guess it's our time to fade away, shall we join our oath-sister in death Asmodeus?" The flaming Demon nodded and let out a laugh alongside the Fallen Angel, both finding amusement in their current situation, while the child simply tilted its head to the side._

_The child-like creature picked up its weapon, waved goodbye and started running at the door. Just before the stone door collapsed the being crashed into it, the stone fracturing into pieces and sent flying into the throng of the strange creatures of pure shadow and light flattening dozens. The 'hammer' swept through the creatures, each strike sending packs into the air to crash into buildings and flames, screams of pain replacing the earlier bloodlust._

_He stood for an hour, the stone 'hammer' slowly chipping away with each strike, multi-colored blood staining the weapon and bearer a rainbow. Finally one managed to get past unharmed, clawed hand impaling where a heart would normally be located, the being stumbled in its rhythm, the creature knocked aside before being replaced by another. The next shadow tore off the creature's right arm, more rushing in until all that remained was the remains of 'his' 'hammer' lying beside the head, a small trickle of pure black blood leaking from the eyesockets. They moved past its corpse through the doorway, the shadows off to finish the last of Lucifer's denizens._

_And so Lucifer fell to Death, the first among the Realms of Dreaas._

_The sky was crying, droplets splashing against the scorched tiles atop the Tower amidst endless blue sands, only two figures seen standing, one a child barely past his first decade holding a bloodied, broken sword, the other an adult clutching the remnants of a black metal stave. The latter stumbled backward, a smile in place despite the three fist-sized wounds over his heart, stomach and left shoulder, the metal falling to the ground with a noise rivaling a bang, followed swiftly by a thud of ground meeting body. Silence reigned in the sky, only six left alive within the tower and the surrounding desert, broken by howling wind blowing through the ruined husk filled with corpses and blood._

_Stoically the child turned as he felt another presence behind him, staring directly at the cloaked form of Death, its strange white mask with horizontal slits for eyes and three vertical slits over the mouth staring back. _"Time's almost up Child-King. One more sacrifice and that which was lost shall be returned."_ The Bloody Angel gave no acknowledgement that he heard, simply looking blankly at the being before turning away and walking towards the body of the man who made him what he was. "Thirty-one thousand, five hundred forty-one people have died to my family since the deal was struck three months ago…" A clatter sounded out as his sword was dropped left hand moving to reach under his hoodie, removing the hand once it curled around a handle, a butcher's knife with cloud-like markings brought out into the cloud-covered night. _

_A small smile grew on the boy's face, one untainted with madness or happiness, the knife was placed just above his heart, his eyes closing as his beloved heirloom was lifted up, "What's one more to that number?" A flash of steel, no white blood splattered across the tiles, no more coated his hands, arms and chest. Instead, red began to stain his clothing, red splashed along the ground, red coated the knife as he fell to his knees, the Shadow at his side with panic easily seen in its movements, a rising hand gently caressing its face before falling lifeless._

_The Child-King died his first death, unaware of the choice his family made and the choice of the Second God._

_He remembered the darkness, it was as comforting just as it was back with Little Brother and their little stuffed kitten within the Tower, those were carefree days despite being restricted to a tiny room with no view of the outside. Little Brother was his opposite in every way despite them being twins, they were fine with it though at the time, it wasn't as if they really understood what they were mimicking anyway. They both had grown used to seeing only slightly in the pitch black that was their 'home', little brother was usually sitting on the stone slab that was their bed cuddling Cheshire while bundled up in one of the two blankets they were given, he just did as he always had and 'danced' in their cell._

_Clinking of keys hitting one another sounded their retrieval for another test, both coming to stand in the center of the room as the metal door creaked open as it normally did, showing the two to a man in metal armor, a Warden of the Tower. They both exited their cell, following behind the man as he led them past door after steel door, darkness above and light below them, walls of scarlet and violet passing by until they reached a set of pure white doors, continuing on even as the Warden stilled and left them. The Wardens were always nice people, their only issue being that they had committed crimes of varying types and wished to redeem themselves and were sent to the Towers, quite a few went mad after their first years, others were different in that they became apathetic to everything._

_Entering through the second door they encountered, both were immediately swept up in the controlled chaos occurring, one led along through the crowd to a table while the other was guided to the side. He was guided to the table, those inside preparing him for the last of his tests while a few looked over Little Brother and made sure he was ready as well, the men and women around them calling out to those around them and their superiors the readiness of the test. Machines of both simple and complex design whirled to life, their myriad of sounds adding another layer of noise barely overheard over the din of the scientists, the test begun with a single word._

_No noise beyond the machines were heard the moment that word was uttered, each fully aware of what they were committing as one of them walked forward with an item in his hand. A single needle was applied to his neck with little warning, a yellow-white water found within the glass behind it, yet he kept smiling like the kitten they were given, a wide, mad smile that unnerved the scientists. A spasm racked the boy, then another until he was shaking uncontrollably, the man backing away to a respectable distance in the case of failure. Then he laughed._

_He kept laughing and the fear in the room became easy to notice, the two guards near the entrance placing a hand near their weapons handles, ready in the case of a rampage. They had nothing to fear for the moment, as he clutched his chest still spasming, laughing as his body glowed, his hair and eyes turning to a pale yellow while the skin paled to near pure white. The adults in the room didn't celebrate as the boy stilled, the laughter becoming nothing more than chuckling as he got to his feet, twirling in place as if he was listening to a music only he heard._

_Little Brother started to move forward as he leapt off the metal table, standing just next to it as the younger child climbed up onto the metal. His twin laid down, tilting his head to the right to look him in the eyes, growing confident as the he softened the smile and closed the unnatural eyes. The same man came over with another needle, the glass filled with a grey water, there was a slight pain noticed as the needle bit into flesh, then the man backed away again, leaving only the two brothers at the table._

_A second passed, then another, and finally a third before anything happened, unfortunately the bad kind. The Child's body convulsed and spasmed erratically, flakes of dust rising off of his body while the scientists ran around in an attempt to prevent his death, the unnamed boy standing off to the side with wide eyes and mouth opened slightly in shock and worry._

_A bark from the superior and all movement stopped, several among their number slumping as the child kept moving erratically, crying as they did so, the man came forward with a single instrument in his hand, him noticing it before the eyes narrowed and mouth became set in a thin line. A moment passed, and the item disappeared from the man's hand, a quick glance at the first brother showing he held it, raising it up in the air above the other child who refused to cry or scream in pain. A single eye switching from black to white opened and saw the knife descending, then the pain stopped…_

_The surviving brother looked at the fading corpse of his Brother, knife devoid of blood but speckled with dust that had once been flesh, then he looked over at the man that had injected both him and his younger twin with the two liquids. Four words were spoken in a deathly calm voice no child should be capable of, sending chills up the scientists' spines and causing the guards to draw their weapons and move towards the boy. "I'm killing you all."_

Ilya woke up suppressing a scream, hand clutching her chest from the dream that quickly dissolved into a nightmare as it often did with her Servant's memories. A look towards the door showed him outside of astral state curled up into a ball, seemingly innocent as he lightly breathed in and out with little noise made, his sword nowhere near him to ruin the image. Trembling she pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her, letting out a whisper meant only for her to hear, "Berserker… what are you?" A minute twitch of the Servant's body went unnoticed as she rolled over and tried to fall back asleep, failing for the remainder of the night.

_Seventeen days after the start of the 5th war-_

The two Masters and their Servants were welcomed to the church with the sight of a ruined yard on one side, the doors open and showing rubble strewn across the floor and grass, the rising sun casting long shadows across the ground. The boy could smell the scent of prana in the air, indicating that a battle had occurred within the night, while the girl noticed a man sitting against a tombstone, staring blankly out into space with a shotgun hanging loosely in his grip. The former Master noticed them as they approached, removing his glasses for a moment then putting them back on, a sigh leaving his lips as he stood up.

The two Servants drew their respective weapons, the boy keeping a hand on his sheathed blade in case of a fight. Kairi looked at the two for a moment before moving behind the tombstones, stooping down to pick up something before standing back up. A gasp from the girl and the narrowing of eyes from the boy at the corpse the man carried, moving to stand before them. Without ceremony the man held out the bloody body of Caren Hortensia, a weary air around the man as he did so, surprising the two Masters with the seeming gentleness that the bounty hunter was handling the corpse with.

Shirou took his friend's corpse from Kairi, the man backing away as he did until he stood where he originally sat. Without pause the man took out a cigarette, lit the paper and let out a smoke, grimacing at the taste before beginning the conversation, "While I'm sorry for your loss, this is a war, people die all the time." He was expecting an indignant reply or looking away as the girl did, he did not expect the boy to nod his head in the same expression as his own, melancholy tainting the face and golden eyes.

Ilya was the one to speak, her gaze glued to Caren's smiling face, while a tear slid down her own, "We, mainly my Onii-chan and papa, have seen more blood than most people. Papa killed his father, and his mother-figure, Onii-chan has slaughtered countless men, women and monsters to be as strong as he can be to protect that which he holds dear. We are no strangers to death and blood, that doesn't mean we have forgotten what makes us human." She looked back at the man, eyes belonging to a person much older than her form showed gazing at him in the same melancholy.

Scraping was briefly heard as the Saber and Berserker put away their swords, one obviously distressed over his Master's state of mind, the other's own distress still apparent if one looked hard enough. Shirou did not speak, simply staring at Caren's body, without warning he turned around and left with her in his arms, his Servant leaving immediately behind while his Sister and her Servant stayed for some parting words. "My imouto will grieve, and then he will come speak with you. I don't think he will kill you, as the deed is done, mind what you say Sisigou." She waited long enough for his reply to finish then left, a sad smile in place as she kept hearing his words.

"I do not regret killing her, I am at peace with myself in that regard. My regret is that I can't win the war for my wish, however selfish that may be, I just want my family to be able to survive past my life. Is that not somewhat similar to why your brother fights? To protect you, your father and those he cares for."

The nameless samurai looked down at his soon-to-be opponent, his face impassive as he took in the children, the one purely in white grinning up at him with a smile worthy of the Cheshire Cat. There was no warning as the boy covered the steps up in seconds, the katana sliding along the nodachi for a moment before the boy was thrown back down the steps. The clouds above rumbled, lightning flashing and illuminating the ground below while rain pattered against the stone steps, trees and clothes of the Servants and Master.

A few seconds passed by with nothing occurring, another flash of lightning heralding a swing from the Child-King, three beams of yellow-white light flying from the sword towards the Fake. A slight widening of eyes greeted the beams, a quick dodge by the Assassin allowed the light to explode upon the steps, the Servant standing back up with sword swinging. A small trail of white blood followed the sword as it swung through the air, the Berserker falling back down the steps.

The Fake did not follow his opponent down, regardless of how much he would enjoy the fight if he did, silently cursing the Witch in his thoughts even as he kept an eye on his opponent. The boy charged back up the stairs giggling madly as he did so, his sword flashed out, eliciting a cut along the Assassin's cheek even as the nodachi stabbed him in the left shoulder. The Fake Servant retreated a few steps up, caught off-guard by the unorthodox attack but quickly returning to his previous readiness, taking a few moments to prepare himself to fight against a foe that wasn't averse to taking wounds.

A childish giggle was all the warning that came before the new onslaught, three strikes dodged in succession, two blows deflected to either side of him overextending the boy to a retaliation. The nodachi blurred, four stab marks appearing on the Berserker's left shoulder, right hip, right lung and a barely missed heart, the blade nicking the organ, alongside several strings of blood flying from the wounds.

The Mad Servant did not care for the injuries, pushing on regardless of the blood and impairment of limbs, a mad laughter leaving his lips as the katana found itself cutting through flesh and clattering against the other weapon. A multitude of slashes were sent from both Servants, wounds ranging from trivial to life-threatening for a normal human appearing on both beings' forms. After a half-minute they stopped suddenly, allowing others to see the extent of the wounds, the boy having received the worst of the exchange due to his way of fighting.

The boy had numerous stab and cut marks littering his form, most notably the one just left of his heart, two on both sides of his neck just barely missing the airway, two puncturing his left lung, a full three stabs in each joint connecting the torso to a limb, a cut connecting the two stabs in the neck, forming a sideways I and silencing the mad Child-King's laughter. The Assassin was in a much better situation, having only a fourth of the total wounds that his fellow Servant had accumulated, a single stab in the right portion of his abdomen, twenty assorted cuts of various sizes along the torso and another cut joining the one decorating his check.

There was no warning before several beams of violet magic struck the Berserker in the chest, the unexpected force sending him flying into the forest, bark splintering as the mad Servant crashed through the foliage, stopping only when his shadow caught up with him. A figure of pure black took shape behind the child, arms wrapping around the Berserker and cushioning the following blows from the branches, both falling to the ground after hitting the seventy-first branch.

Only the boy let out a sound, that of laughter before they hit the ground, the Cheshire smile making itself known while the shadow made a distinct shape, clothing made of black fabric manifesting into existence. The shadow was covered by an overcoat, pants and boots, nothing clearly distinctive seen underneath the clothes and hood. Both child and shadow moved quickly to return to the battlefield, a guardless pitch-black claymore appearing from within the left sleeve as the Berserker leapt into the air, body twisting to be parallel to the ground just as the blade made contact with his feet, launching the boy through the forest again.

Eyes widened momentarily at his entrance, the Fake Assassin moving just in time to deflect the boy away from hurling past him, the boy landing against a branch hanging over the stairs. A second passed, the cracking of the branch the only noise giving away the Berserker's movement until the ring of metal sounded out, sparks flying as both swordsman renewed their battle. The only noteworthy detail he managed to gleam was the lack of wounds on the other Servant, the fake samurai giving more ground than he would have liked under the reckless assault, already the boy having previous state of injury in a half-minute.

Both swordsmen continued on with their little skirmish, another half minute rolling by when something from within the forest was thrown to end up between the two Servants, only an ink-black noticed before it was in the way of the duel. The Berserker's arm moved back, catching the thrown claymore and swinging upwards, sparks flying along with a screech of grating steel, the Assassin moving back much quicker than normal in his surprise. A flurry of blows followed behind, the two-handed sword wielded as easily as the katana, a full two dozen strikes delivered within the span of three seconds.

The Fake lived beyond what his status would normally dictate, parrying all but two slashes that left only a thin line of blood across his left knee and under his right eye. A flash of steel, twin streams of white flew into the air, the clanging of metal and laughter of a mad child the only answers. Gradually retreating up the steps, the Second Assassin ducked backwards suddenly, allowing the violet beam to hit the insane child in the chest.

The Berserker tumbled down the stairs, his borrowed weapon dissipating back into the shadows as he fell, eventually coming to a stop near the bottom of the steps looking away from the temple, his Master running up to him and looking him over. Three seconds passed with the Berserker turning around, a single step taken ending with a flash of white light, his opponent barely able to deflect the blade to the side before the assault once more began.

A sigh left the Witch's mouth, another orb of magic being created to deal with the rather annoying Servant she had to deal with. Her eyes widened as a black shape flew into the air, a single appendage of the dark form lashing out to lightly cut just centimeters under her right eye and interrupting her aim. The sudden appearance of the being startled the Caster, the orb veering near-instantly at the new foe and shooting it into the ground amidst a cloud of dust and stone. A spell made the cloud disappear as quickly as it appeared, its absence showing nothing beyond the air and a crater.

Confusion apparent on what little was seen of her face, the Witch turned back to the fight between her Servant and the Berserker, wary of what had attacked her out of nowhere and where it had gone. A shout caught her attention for a split-second, as it did to the 'Mad' Servant resulting in a lost right arm, a spray of white blood and a flying katana, a smirk appearing as the Homunculi Master ran up the steps. A bark of laughter brought her back to observing the Berserker, eyes widening as her Assassin jumped back to avoid being skewered on a dozen spikes of Darkness.

A beam of light hit the Nameless Servant squarely in the chest as he landed upon the steps, sending him stumbling up a single step before the light was sent careening into the forest. The spikes retracted back into the shadow they came from, a new limb for the Berserker made within the six seconds spent waiting for the dark to abate. Both of the Child-King's foes stiffened at the sight as the white liquid-like substance flowed into the shape of an arm, quickly gaining the pigment for human skin before being covered by the white fabric. Not once during the entire fight had the smile been driven from his face, unnerving both the Witch and Samurai with the same expression not meant to be borne by a child.

"It's been a long time since we got play this much, ne Onii-san?" Laughter escaped the 'human' as he stumbled around drunkenly for a few steps, head tilted to the side with the near-permanent smile diminishing as if he was listening to something. The hand gripping the white katana let it fall for a short second, catching it just before the pommel would be too far to grasp and sending it flying up the stairs spinning, its form shattered into fragments of metal glittering in the moonlight alongside the violet motes of prana. All upon the steps heard the ringing as the metal clattered against the temple stairs, then the giggling of the 2nd Berserker as he began to twirl around in his stumbling, both hands wide out before being placed behind his back as he stopped and looked up, a haunting melody hummed from the Monster. "… Dark Light… Play until you lose yourself in madness… Forever meant only to mimic the happiness you grant others… Bright Shadow… Protect until you fade away in the sun's light… Knowing none will ever hear you beyond the night… Thus was the King and his first brother, destined to never be understood and never caring so long as those they loved were safe."

The figure in black once more appeared, standing just behind the Berserker with two of its claymores grasped in its hands, the limbs moving to place the two blades crossing diagonally over the boy's form with the flat of either blade towards them. A glimmer of white and two 'swords' made in the image of the 2nd Saber's sword were held by the child, loosely and calmly held at his sides with a genuine smile gracing the Monster's face. Silence reigned, then the Witch let out a scoff as she took in the figure that had attacked her minutes prior, "So you bring another with you to fight me knowing you needed the extra advantage, and yet you leave him in plain sight rather than keeping him hidden. Are you a fool in addition to a mad child?"

His giggling didn't stop as he made a childish pose as if he were thinking over what she had said, infuriating the Caster with the behavior until the boy spoke truthfully spinning around once on one foot as he did. "Probably am, don't really care, daddy always did say everyone was either a fool or an idiot, even himself." Both of the non-humans dashed up the stairs, crossing the distance between them and the Assassin within two seconds, the shadow moving past the Nameless Hero and leaping at the Witch, three clangs heard as the creature swung its conjured blades. Two swipes were made with both claymores, each releasing an arc of shadow sent to counter the violet beams the Caster sent towards it, both attacks breaking apart into a shower of sparkling prana sent cascading down.

Lunging forward with one blade reared back and the other outstretched, the shadow met a shield of prana in its path, the Caster letting out a barely audible grunt as her barrier struggled to hold back the 'spirit'. A flick of the wrist and it was sent flying back down, a cloud of smoke engulfing her from the point-blank spellfire before being blown away with a simple spell, alarm clear on the Witch's face when she found the Berserker grinning at her with his damned smile, already swinging with the right blade in an attempt to rid her of her head. Her only real weapon was drawn in the left hand while she blocked with another barrier, the giggling making a tiny hint of fear cross through her body before she shot another beam into the Child-King. The boy tumbled down the stairs, straightening out and swinging from his left with both swords, the Fake Servant ducking under the attack before side-stepping to the left, avoiding the cleave from the creature's right sword.

Laughter filled with madness filled the air, even as its source was pounded with bolt after bolt of the Caster's magics, the shadow trying its best to shield the Berserker with its own body, several 'holes' appearing in places where it had been hit multiple times. Red, black and white splatters covered the stone steps, barely ten percent of the stairway they had fought upon for the past half-hour remaining unmarred by the blood. Both the Berserker and his Shadow finally stopped fourteen steps above where the former's Master stood, the younger stumbling back up to his feet and about to continue back up, the older grasping its right shoulder while standing near-still. Dripping was heard, then a mix between a guttural cough and growl, the shadow's right arm losing its shape before falling like a liquid and splashing into a 'puddle', a single step taken backwards down the stairs before another bolt of prana hit it square in the head, the body locking up while the Cheshire smile immediately disappeared from the Berserker's face.

Black motes scattered into the air from the Child King's shadow, its hand raising itself slowly even as it disappeared, reaching out for its brother and grasping the hand of the boy, the latter's hand reaching towards its head and moving back the cowl, exposing the black bandages covering the entirety of the head. Slowly and with gentleness one would not expect from the Mad Servant, the Berserker removed the wrappings, the ink-black 'skin' exposed to the world of Gaia before rapidly fading away, a glimmer of red found for a short moment in the image of a smile before they too faded, leaving behind the four individuals. "Onii…san?" Silence reigned over the stairway, the Witch smug in her killing of the creature while the Assassin grew wary at the lack of action made by the crazed child, tis Master in a similar position to the latter with worry creeping in as time continued to pass. "Berserker?"

A twitch, then another as he turned to look back up at the Witch and her Servant, the smug look leaving near-immediately after seeing the single pale yellow eye glaring hateful up at them, hands gripping his head as if having a headache. "It hurts… Can't hear Onii-san… You killed Iro-nii…" A clang of metal resounded through the air, startling the Master and Caster as they looked from where the child had been to the Assassin, the man trembling as he fought back against the enraged child, only the left blade of the latter meeting the nodachi. The 'younger' Servant brought up his right blade, its tip pointing directly at the Nameless Fake's head before it lost its shape, turning into little more than a line of light as it rocketed forward in the half-second it took to 'create', the boy's opponent barely able to avoid the blow enough to only receive a deep cut along his left face.

Another volley of magic came at him from the Witch, an equal number of white orbs appearing around him and flying off into and through the violet lights, a second later finding themselves smashing into a hastily erected shield that held for only two seconds, barely enough time for the Caster to move without being hit by the thirteen shots. The woman paused for a short moment before taking out her only physical weapon, clutching it in hand as the Mad Servant's Master yelled out an order backed by a command seal, the flash of red dissipating while surprise etched itself on her and the Witch's face as he continued to fight heedless of the order.

He barely felt the seal trying to take effect, his rage blocking out most everything beyond simply killing everything that took Onii-san from him, he didn't want to lose another brother, not after he had lost his first brother to the Mad Men's experiments. And yet he had, so he left behind his happy madness for apathetic rage intent on killing the ones who killed Onii and then letting himself fade away into his blessed sleep, back to the endless meadow that was Father's tomb. Once more he attacked the Assassin, intent on killing the Fake Servant before he moved slightly out of the way, allowing the twin strikes to pass through the air harmlessly while the Caster rushed forward, two seconds passing before a dripping of blood was heard, white once more coating the stairway with their form. A look of surprise washed over the Berserker's face, the rage subsiding at the strange connection that he felt and the absence of another, before it clicked upon the Witch stepping back leisurely.

The boy in white stood trembling, his shadow no longer beneath him and Master looking on in shocked disbelief behind him further down the stairs. The Witch was in front of him, face holding a satisfied smile and hand holding Rule Breaker and the Second Berserker's command seals. "Kill your former Master, Berserker." The light of one of the command seals flashed and dimmed, the Child-King twitching uncontrollably as he turned around.

Tears gathered in the former Master's eyes, the Mad Servant lurching down the steps with his blades of light still in existence. The girl did not move from her spot, watching as the boy neared her and stabbed her through the stomach, a light cough letting blood escape her mouth her first of two reactions, "Ber… Ser…Ker…" Ilya fell to the ground as the sword was removed, blood and water mixing together beneath her.

The Second Caster was smug for a moment, then came the killing intent. The pressure made her stumble along with the First Assassin, the Berserker not acknowledging the 'force' in his grief. The source of the intent came from further down the stairs, the Master of the Second Saber slowly climbing them with his head down. "Saber…" the Second Saber appeared without hesitation, a slight look of sadness in his eyes when looking towards the Child-King.

Slowly the Berserker looked up at the advancing two warriors, apathy staining his face while grief marked his eyes, tears running down his face as he asked a question "Saber… I ask this of you… Will you kill the one you call brother along with the two who caused his downfall… " The Witch shuddered at the blank tone the boy used, while the other boy's Servant nodded his reply, drawing the bone from his back with his left hand and the mundane blade reversed with his right. "Then… as your former 'master' I give you your second order… kill me… kill the warrior… and kill the Witch."

The Berserker did not react when his former Master was cradled in her brother's arms, the two quickly moving down the stairs and into the city, leaving behind the stairway buffeted by raindrops as well as the four Servants of varying classes. A chuckle was heard, one full of insanity that none should be capable of creating, three seconds passing before it changed into full-blown laughter, startling the Witch to look at her newest Servant, a strange knife held in his left hand in a reverse-grip. An air of mystery and danger surrounded the weapon looking like a butcher's knife etched with a cloudy pattern along the dull grey metal, its form twirled around in hand once, twice, thrice before it was plunged into the left thigh to the two Servants from Gaia's world surprise. A second passed, the boy's form flickering erratically as _red_ blood leaked from the wound, a sad smile in place as he held a single guardless katana made from his light in the right hand, "I understand Kizuko's guilt now Onii-san. Even if I was forgiven by nee-chan, I just can't forgive myself for what I was forced to do."

The man gave no acknowledgement that he heard the child, merely looking at the knife embedded in his leg with a semi-sad eye before looking back at the unveiled face of the King, pale yellow staring into dull green. Wind blew through the stairway while the clouds parted to allow the moon to shine down, a single step taking by the swordsman before he disappeared from sight with a cloud of dust forming underneath, a pulse of prana felt before a shattering sound rang out, the child backing up the steps with his 'sword' in motes of light trailing behind the bone. Another sword of light was made in the blink of an eye, moving to intercept the follow-up blow from the mundane blade, yet another spike of prana flaring out as the two were about to impact, blue lines crisscrossing along the metal blade with an audible crack echoing out for the split second of its existence.

White and silver flew through the air, the latter consumed in azure as the prana inside the fragments consumed them, another shower of white flying though the air along the echoing ring of the two non-metallic weapons making contact. Another sword went to join in their dance, the long nodachi darting and twisting in strikes that should be impossible, only to find them blocked and deflected by the bone with an ease that brought a chill, even as the former was aided by the mad child. Both Servants of the Witch side-stepped for a moment, allowing a beam of violet to streak between them, and past the Saber as he twisted round the spell, moving to keep attacking the two warriors even as the Caster sought to aid her shields.

A full twenty seconds passed, filled with the breaking of sword after sword of light, before the nodachi of the Assassin was split in two, a large spike of prana utilized right before the bone cut through steel with a large gash appearing along the man's chest as he retreated back up, leaving behind his ally to the Saber. Only three steps were made before the nameless samurai felt the bone entered through his chest into the heart, a quick cough of blood expelled before he looked down at the wound, stumbling back and tripping as the 'sword' was ripped from flesh and brought to bear against yet another weapon of light. A kick was sent at the Berserker, impacting against the boy and sending him up the stairs slightly, a full three violet spells hitting him in the back and sending him back down into the Saber, the bone already in motion aiming for the neck, a soft smile worn as the bone neared him. "Thank you… Bye bye Mitsu-nii."

A spray of red and a thump was all that needed to be seen and heard, the Saber moving on to the Assassin, taking in the nod with one of his own, and stabbing him once more through the heart, ensuring the man died quickly as befitted a warrior of his caliber. Both bodies faded, the Berserker in a whirlwind of white and red the body destroying itself before it could hit the ground with either part, while the Fake left the realm of the living in a shower of purple with a satisfied smile. Shock, pure shock was etched into her face as she watched the samurai from another world kill her two Servants without any trouble, then fear replaced the previous emotion as he began the trek up, the man's right hand reaching up to his mouth for three seconds before it moved away, glistening in the moonlight.

He felt something break within his Master, a large sorrow being sent through the link until the emotion was pouring into his being, filling up the apathy he normally found himself in before he felt rage for the third time since his birth. Both hands gripped the 'handle' of the remains of the Beast, the only one he acknowledged as his equal in this life and the last, raising it up above his head much like the King of Knights while pouring prana into the blade to the point it would have broken a lesser blade three times over. Life returned to dead eyes burning with a hatred not of their owner's own being, the rather simple look freezing the Caster in her thoughts from the fear it brought, several shields formed of prana manifesting themselves in front of her to take the coming blow.

There was no yell or roar, the wind whistling softly as it was cut through by the slowly descending 'sword' until the tip was placed against stone, the weapon then raised once again before being sheathed, the Saber turning his back on the Caster a moment later and beginning his trek back 'home'. Confusion became dominant among the latter's emotions, three seconds passing before she felt pain and blacked out, all she heard was the cracking of earth and shattering of the barriers she made. Medea's body fell in two perfectly cut pieces, rapidly shattering into prana and returning to the Throne, leaving behind a desolate stairway marred by a deep trench running just up to the entrance of the temple above.

Melancholy hung in the air around his Master's residence, reflecting the mood inside the building as a third body was laid beside the prior two, all three having their eyes closed giving them a serene look. The father of the Berserker's Master was silently crying at the table, the man once known as the Magus killer breaking down as he lost yet another important individual, comforted by the current 'Head' of the Matou family, their positions swapped from the event taking place only two days earlier. Shirou was found kneeling in front of the three bodies, eyes closed with tears streaming down his face while his body trembled erratically, the boy finally allowing the sorrows of the war catch up with him.

The second Saber was the only point of calm within the household, Shinji currently away from the household for some errands, simply standing with a hollow look in the doorway. "I have a wish now, Tou-sama." All three adults looked over to the Ancestor Killer, the voice they heard betraying nothing of what he felt, to find him getting up from his kneeling position, his left hand reaching up to his face and wiping it of the tears. "My wish will be to bring Caren, Sakura-chan and Ilya-nee back to life, no matter the cost to myself they will be back among the living." Sad smiles were gained by the two fathers, then a shuffling was heard before all eyes turned to the sole Servant, the man bowing his head and holding the 'pommel' of his 'sword' like a knight was usually pictured.

"I am your sword, your tool with which to win this War. I hold no wish of my own, so your wish is my wish Master, until Death claims me I shall continue on fighting and killing in the name of your wish." Another day dawned, and with it a wish and reason to truly fight beyond testing one's self came to be.

_The Endakai, once the rulers of the Second Age, now reduced to the caretakers of lost technology, guarding over it to make sure that none, including themselves, would abuse it again. The two Legions came forth, driven on by the majority of the world to destroy the small nation for the 'crimes' of its King. They did not willing go into this matter, and only accepted it knowing that they would likely die and atone for the act they were to perform._

_The Child-King walked forward with the whole of his family. He didn't want them to die, they decided to follow him despite knowing what awaited them. Under the red sky and upon the blue sands did the blood of millions be spilled, only 10 amongst them being of the family of the Child-King. Only once did Kodomo stop, giving a gentle smile at the commander of the twin legions before he was impaled through the heart, his body remaining standing when the sword was removed despite the numerous weapons embedded within flesh and bone. Red blood dripped to the ground, consumed by the shadow underneath him before it let out a howl of anguish, rising up and preparing to kill the one who killed its brother, the Child-King's eyes slowly closing with the image of hell he helped create burning itself as his last memory._

_The Third Age began with a single crash and the death of the World known as Dreaas._

_18 days after start of the 5th War-_

Two blurs raced along the rooftops of Fuyuki, each circling around the other in an attempt to get a clear shot for their weapons to travel, neither able to run out of projectiles to use in their on-going duel. The red blur channeled prana into his legs and jumped from his current building to the one directly across, bow replaced by married swords to deflect three shots sent, glass breaking from the windows hit by the wayward projectiles. Immediately upon landing he lashed out with the right blade, sparks ground out as bladed musket met white curved sword, then another clash sounded as each weapon welcomed its' partner violently sparking next to them.

Both let the other move back a step, followed near instantly by a step forward baring weapons, three strikes before the white sword was broken, then another for the black to shatter, the Nameless Hero tracing the married pair again in the split-second he had prior to the next exchange. Ten seconds passed by, his swords broken and replaced once before he leapt back throwing the pair he held and making another, watching as the Outcast deflected them into the roof and shot the traced swords with a bullet each shattering them. The cartridges flew from their respective barrel, metal locked back into place as she dashed to just in front of the Second Archer, swords were swung in tandem with muskets with their ringing clash echoing through the air, the bullet shells clicked and clinked against concrete.

Fourteen attacks met again and again, two pairs of swords created as the ones before cracked and shattered into shards of metal, a gunshot interrupting what would be the fifteenth clash and breaking the black sword, another shot ringing out making the male Archer back away, a shallow cut appearing on the right side of his neck as the bullet grazed him. The other Archer also retreated, her form bearing a minor wound on her left arm, her left thigh and a long diagonal slash across her chest, her weapons catapulting the casings out, already in the process of reloading as she leapt to the next building over. EMIYA traced his bow again, nocking a Breaking Bakuya on the string and drawing with a single motion, firing the now-projectile at the other Hero's back before he too took off, idly watching the white streak travel and hit her before being knocked away and into the middle of a sky scraper a street over, the windows lighting up before the building and the three around it were consumed in an explosion.

He landed upon a tiled roof, a patch of tiles inches away from him fractured as a shot pinged off them, two arrows formed, nocked, drawn and fired into the distance in retaliation with another nocked as he sprinted away from the home. Both projectiles he fired missed by a foot to either side, a return volley thundering as three more muskets appeared around her and fired alongside the two in her hands, the Counter Guardian stumbling for a half-second as he was hit by one musket ball in the lower chest, blood welling from the entry and exit wounds. He recovered and immediately stilled, ignoring the late bullet nicking the tip of his ear, drawing the arrow while aiming for the spot she would be at, finally firing after a second's calculations.

It shot forward slightly faster than a bullet, rushing through the air until it slowed, as did everything around it, inches from the Outcast's chest, a second passed as it entered her back and stuck, the pain not registering as she kept moving along. Both fired shot after shot, arrow after arrow at one another, only a half-dozen among roughly seventy from each shooter finding their mark in non-important areas, none even managing to impair their targets in movement and ability to fight. A sword made itself known in the grip of the Faker, a thin pitch-black weapon with several small sheets of metal curling round a thin rod, his movement stilling atop the second highest skyscraper as the 'arrow' was drawn.

Bullets whizzed by, two striking him in his chest as he aimed the Noble Phantasm, twenty seconds and another sixteen shots passing before it was loosed, a short boom echoing as it broke sound the moment his fingers slipped from the handle. Once more time seemed to slow as it appeared directly before the First Hero, her right musket moved to slightly redirect the sword's path, a clang of metal sounded, then of flesh rent and blood spilling in large quantities. The arrow travelled for a mile before crashing into an office building, once more the building lighting up before disappearing in a grand explosion, red-brown blood splatting against the roof, its owner continuing on moving despite the debilitating hole barely missing her heart, a roar of gunfire answering the creation of another sword similar to one of the previous.

Seven of the sixteen shots punctured through skin and bone, crimson fluid flowing down, the black sword he preferred using flying through the air, a plume of smoke erupting from the muzzle before metal pinged off metal, the sword turned projectile scattering just to the side harmlessly as she passed. Three guns appeared above her, a short charge of prana running through them before they fired, the muskets shattering into blue motes the moment the shots left their barrel, three arrows lancing through the air in response and detonating the explosive projectiles on contact. Smoke obscured the two from one another's sight, neither caring as they sent projectile after projectile through the cloud, blindly fired 'normal' shots soaring by one another with only three hitting one another in the air among the dozens flying.

The cloud thinned, both from the projectiles racing through dispersing the smoke into smaller amounts and time simply settling the dust, the Outcast found racing up the skyscraper across from the building he stood upon, a sword nocked to his bow and fired across the distance separating them. The musket the First Archer held in her right hand was placed over her back, snatching a spent flintlock hovering around her and throwing it at the incoming projectile, the contact prematurely exploding the Broken Phantasm and allowing her to continue up. Kicking off the steel 'beneath' her feet she grabbed the steel arm of the crane placed atop the skyscraper, climbing through the beams until she reached the end, removing the musket from her back and holding it loosely along with its partner.

'_Archer where are you and the other Archer now?"_ The mental thought reached the white-haired man and made him narrow his eyes, a sigh leaving him physically as he did a quick check of the area while keeping his bow trained on the Hero, her doing the same with her muskets. He let the sigh play out for a reasonable amount of time before replying to his Master, none of the sarcasm he was known to use in other timelines seeping into his voice leaving it near-blank, "_Business District, follow the destruction to the skyscrapers." _An affirmative came the moment he finished the sentence, another sigh leaving him at the impulsive nature of his Master that had thankfully faded with age, his focus shifting to completely watch the other Archer, a slight narrowing of eyes as she merely stood atop the crane's arm staring straight back at him.

A sharp turn of her head and raising of the left gun had the Second Archer cursing, even more so as a surge of prana was felt for a second before fading, a warning sent to his Master just before a crack sounded through the empty district, '_RIN, DOWN NOW!'_ He heard no acknowledgement nor any questioning from her as the bullet sped towards the ground, a rising plume of smoke marking a spot behind a hunkering human rapidly rising to her feet and starting to flee. The musket-wielder jumped from her perch, scrabbling for a foot-hold as the bowman's first volley smashed into rooftop she landed upon, an arrow to the back disregarded as she sped off after the Master, no one else out and about during the curfew put in place after the two Lancers had fought and leveled a neighborhood… one of the only good things to come from the 'Terrorist actions' that had claimed a good two hundred lives.

Once more the two raced along the buildings, only the Unnamed Hero actively firing to kill with his projectiles, the Outcast's shots aimed to debilitate and slow the Second Archer chasing after her, both failing in their respective tasks. '_Why didn't you say you were in a stalemate, I could have been killed if you hadn't said that in time!'_ He let relief flow over him for all of two seconds at the voice of his Master coming over the connection, not replying back immediately as another volley of arrows was fired at his Master's pursuer. "I am the bone of my sword…" The first of his aria was spoken as a fake sword formed in hand, the blade reinforced as it was drawn, the second line leaving his lips as the projectile was pulled back fully and loosed. "Steel is my body and fire is my blood…"

Another sword was formed and nocked as the third line was whispered, idly noticing the previous shot go wide as it was deflected skyward and a rapidly disappearing cloud of blue sparkles of what once was metal. "I have created over a thousand blades…" He didn't aim straight for her with this sword-arrow, instead aiming for the building two ahead of her, the projectile fired just as the others before it had, becoming a red streak through the sky for all of two seconds before entering the building and detonating. Despite the building collapsing she kept going, bounding across the floating rubble that swiftly felt gravity claim them with no break in stride, a curse sounding through the Counter Guardian's head at the cry of alarm his Master gave while he continued on with the next part of his aria. "Unknown to Death, Nor Known to Life…"

The Hero jumped down into the alleyway separating the falling building and its neighbor, darting from its safety to be met with a hail of 'normal' arrows, leaping to the side a half-second before they would have made her a pincushion, another two verses leaving the Second Archer's lips as he readied a second volley, "Have withstood pain to create many weapons… Yet, those hands will never hold anything…" The Outcast turned to enter the next alley, a stream of red lights clouding her vision in dust even as she felt something leap over her head, cloud parting quickly as she swept her muskets through the smoke to clear it, finding the other Archer and his Master waiting, the last of the former's aria now heard by both. "So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works." Fire gathered around the red-clad man, spreading past Servant and Master as it consumed all in its path, the First simply standing in silence as the fire that didn't burn engulfed her in bright light.

The crackling of flames died, replaced by the noise of clockwork infinitely working, the fire had burned away everything to reveal a wasteland, barren beyond the graveyard of swords that held the grace of tombstones and gears obscured by smog above. The Faker stood upon the only hill in sight, his Master looking at him with a mixture of relief and fear farther behind him on the hill's top, his bow still in hand until he let it fall and break on contact the ground, Kanshou and Bakuya replacing the black bow. No words were exchanged between the two Archers, the First falling forward for seemingly no reason until a sword shot past through where she had stood, a twist of her body and arm lashing out making metal grate against metal as the second sword was sent flying. The 'graves' were torn from their spot in the world of blades, sent rocketing towards the intruder in their forger's world with a single thought, tearing through the air as if eager to taste blood.

A half-minute of weapon-fire raining down on the Outcast played out, holy weapons wielded by Heroes and Saints, demonic weapons held in the grips of Villains and Warriors, copies of treasured blades held by humanity's legends fired at one such Hero. The First Archer danced, spun and ducked through the hail, bladed muskets lashing out only to redirect the Second's weapons enough to pass by without harm, even still several made it through and struck her body. A third of the near-hundred blades managed to wound her, three managing to lodge themselves in flesh amidst the others that only scratched her, one just below the right shoulder, another in her lower left leg and a final spear impaling just shy of her heart into the left lung.

The rain of blades stopped as an overly-large sword appeared over the Second Archer's shoulder and was fired, sparks flying as it made contact with the woman's muskets, the altered sword forcing her back several meters from force alone before it shattered under the weight of broken bullets, shards of metal and motes of cyan floating around her. A loud crack called out, the mask hiding her upper face breaking in two, the left side falling to the ground and shattering while the right stayed glued to her face, an eye a touch lighter than a sapphire staring blankly at him.

Both muskets were raised and directed at him, small amounts of prana felt as the vault's contents were released from stasis to surround her in wood and metal, some of the weapons floating lazily and drifting while others remained stiff and unmoving. A light smile broke through the cold mask, small enough that not even the other Archer saw it on her face, she could feel the calm of impending death, could already feel life ebb away for her sister to take another. Eyes refocused on the man she would easily call her better in combat, taking in the swords excitedly quivering in the ground and those hovering in the air around him similar to her and her muskets, a single pull of the trigger and hell visited Unlimited Blade Works.

Thunderous cracks echoed out as bullets and musket balls were sent tearing out of the barrel, several of them shattering completely as their mistress bid them Break or fly with the projectiles they released. Swords, spears, maces, daggers and all manner of other blades shot towards the Outcast with a simple thought, clanging sounded and sparks made as the two walls of vastly different weaponry hit one another, dozens upon dozens forming as each tool previous was damaged beyond repair. Neither Servant moved from their spot, the First lowering her cherished relics to her side to the same position as the Second held his own blades, both simply staring at the other intently waiting for something only they knew. A full minute passed by slowly for the Archers, that same minute flying by for the Second's Master as she watched thousands of blades and thousands of guns 'die' and disappear, neither side visibly winning as far as she could tell even as the world bore wounds of devastation rarely seen.

His swords held in hand were dropped to the dirt, his bow and the curled black sword summoned from among the vast plain, the latter nocked and drawn once more within the night, the string held taut for past half of a minute as swords and muskets clashed. He let the sword named Hrunting be sent flying, a boom once again accompanying the release of the Noble Phantasm, the sword turned arrow becoming nothing more than a red blur streaking past bullet and copied weapon, shattering everything in its path be it sword or gun. Time slowed as it neared the Hero, aimed not at her body but at the relic hanging at her waist, the one cyan eye widening as the projectile pierced the black metal and continued past into the distance, the mushroom cloud appearing disregarded as every airborne musket clattered to the ground lifeless.

Just as it started so too did it end, a rain of blades not unlike how the King of Heroes would have unleashed flying at the First Hero with a comparable speed, the only difference between it and the one before it being quantity, dozens replaced by hundreds of fakes. The Outcast stood firm for all of seven seconds before being overwhelmed, bladed guns deflecting the first thirteen into the ground before one broke, dust obscuring her form while weapons disappeared into it, crunching of bone as blunt weapons struck and ripping as flesh was torn apart from bladed instruments. The rain continued for thirty seconds, fourteen after the sound of metal scraping against metal ceased, replaced by weapons impacting the ground and blood littering the dirt, the world of the Distorted Human fading away back to the alley they had entered first.

A step was taken, then a blinding pain made itself known in his chest, eyes widening in shock as he looked down and saw the end of a musket barrel, top sharpened to an edge with red coating the dark silver, his black eyes immediately moving towards a shocked-still Rin before a yell left him. "Rin, move!" A millisecond played out just after the words were bellowed, a crack of fire and smoke erupting from the barrel and letting the bullet fly into the teen Magus, a pained yelp sounding as she fell to the ground from the hole in her leg. The gun was ripped from its current prison, two quick stumbled steps letting him know he at least had done a number on her, his body falling to a kneel as she moved around him, his Master's eyes widening in horror at whatever had happened to the First Archer, something he quickly found as she entered his vision.

Her right side was utterly mangled from the sword rain he hit her with mere minutes before, the arm no longer there with bones from the shoulder and ribcage peeking through ripped muscle and skin, one sword still somehow lodged in her left leg while the other was barely managing to keep her weight up multitudes of cuts and punctures marking her skin red. The musket she held kept trying to open to allow the spent cartridge to be removed, the mechanisms heavily damaged if what he saw was correct, but it didn't matter with what she was about to do, the gun lifted up in preparation. The girl he called Master lifted up her hand in the position of a Gandr curse, a small volley of three shooting from her limb into the Outcast's body, each making another hole in her chest except for one that tore out a quarter of her left-side neck. The gun flashed down, two different splatters covered the ground in blood.

The girl's body went limp, arm hitting the ground with a dull thump while life began to leave her eyes, the instrument of her death left in her body slowly fading away as its owner fell to the side, two pairs of the married black and white sword sticking out of her back, two embedded in the heart. Brown-red liquid gathered underneath the woman's body, a calm smile forming on her face as she felt the comforting numbness of her cherished cold, her breathe stilling as her body started fading back to the Throne as the other ten had before her. Alleyne, the First Hero and Outcast of Dreaas, died again, this time in a battle with another instead of old age.

The Magus weakly tried to sit up, crimson blood spilling into the puddle beneath her before she gave up, splashing back into pool as her Archer came and kneeled beside her, her hand reaching out and brushing against the man's cheek gently before a smile worked its way onto her face. A weak chuckle left her, her hand moving back down to her side as her voice came out as a near whisper, a slight stutter in her voice appearing as the blood loss got to her, "I-if onl-ly I had-dn't come… we wo-ould b-both be aliv-ve… Ri-right, Ar-ch-her?" He gave her a smile he reserved for moments like this, hand reaching down to hold her hand, he then spoke, a comforting thing for the dying girl, "Probably, probably not. She likely would have killed me with how she acted, and I her, so really… all you did was speed up the fight and prevent any more collateral damage." Another chuckle left her, she took a breath and breathed back out, two tears leaving her eyes as her body stilled, the last of the Tohsaka line moving on to Akasha. EMIYA bowed his head in silence as his body began fragmenting into motes of prana, a single tear shed before he followed the other Archer back to the Throne, and his curse as a Counter Guardian.

_A sadness entered her eyes at the sight of her children playing in the few fields of dirt their village claimed as their own, just a few days had passed her forty-third birthday and she was feeling her age catch up with her. She was sitting on a bench outside her home and workplace, watching over her two little fae with a smile, she had relinquished her relic three years after coming home, throwing it into the river supplying them with pure water and watching it fall into the abyss. While it had been one of her few treasures, it wasn't hers by right, it belonged to one of the pantheon or one of the ancient races, the only things she kept from it was the two muskets given freely by the Devil, nothing would make her part with those except death._

_Her eyes drooped slightly as she stood up and went inside, gathering up her two relics and placing them on her back and hip, her half-mask grabbed and placed on her face before she moved back outside, ignoring the looks of curiosity she gained from her children. They both ran up to and walked with her until all three reached the edge of the river, Alleyne taking the time to give both a smile and pat on the head before sitting at the edge of the calm tide, feet idly kicking in the water. "There once was an ocean that separated the four continents, the waters a deeper green than emerald and the shores a light turquoise brighter than my eyes…" She launched into one of the many stories and legends she knew and had put into writing, though those writings were held by the Librarians and bound into a book, enrapturing her son and daughter in what once was._

_Her story was finished in four minutes, a story explaining what the depths once contained, the Krakens, Great Serpents and Leviathan, the beings living in coral and rock under the waves, a story telling of what the seas brought those who traversed it, food, drink, trade and war. A legend of why the oceans disappeared and canyons took their place, the Mortal God taking away that which brought his children ruin and prosperity. The majority of the beings that had lived under the waves had perished in the event, the people under the waves leaving only their ruins at the canyons' base, the Serpents changing until the first Wyrms were hatched, the Leviathan adapting to the absence of water quickly and living far past the First Age's end._

_She sent her children off with a smile, telling them to go to bed and watching them scamper off, waiting several minutes before letting a bittersweet laugh as the cold artic water lapped at her feet. A last thought played through her head, the meaning of it bringing sadness to her smile and eyes, '_Like the oceans before, I bring ruin and prosperity, and as the oceans before did, it is time for the Hero to disappear.'_ A shuddering deep breath was taken, her eyes closing and head tilting as she placed her two treasures next to her, life having left her the moment she closed her eyes, her age having caught up with her. _

_19 days after the start of the 5th war-_

Both Sabers stared at one another, the last two Servants beyond the Ruler, their Masters beside them prepared to battle alongside their Servants in the abandoned mansion. The Invisible Sword was gripped tightly by the First Saber, the Second Saber and his Master unsheathing their normal blades with their opposite hand, the bone-swords being drawn with their dominant hand. The opposing Master chanted a few words, the scent of prana in the air once she finished.

The two samurai-like individuals rushed forward, the Master heading at the Servant of the opposing pair and vice-versa. The other pair were unsurprised, already used to the strangeness that surrounded this War and of these two in particular. The King of Knights blocked the katana with her sword, the mundane metal shattering on impact to be replaced near-instantly with another, followed by the bone sword crashing down on the Holy Sword. The bone did not break as the katana did, sliding down the Invisible Sword with sparks flying, both combatants looking at one another with apathetic eyes.

The other fight happened with little differences to the start, the katana brought to bear first followed by the bone. Instead of a sword making contact with the opposing blades, wind and the gauntlet met them, cracks forming along the katana with the single clash. The Vice-director slid back from the blow of the bone-sword, sending two blades of wind at the Greatest Swordsman, her opponent throwing his mundane blade at one, destroying them both in the process, and blocked the remaining wind with his unnatural blade.

Seconds moved at a tenth of the speed, each blow being perceived and blocked in mid-flight by every participant. Swords were broken and made as easily as one would breathe, wind was slammed against metal-like bone, while the same bone was used against Fae-blessed steel. To a regular Magi it would look like blurs rather than people fighting, each deflected attack etching a trench into the ground below them or a building beside them.

They did not stay anchored to the ground, nor did they remain with the same opponent for more than a minute and a half. When one jumped, their opponent was directly behind pressing the advantage the maneuver granted them, whether it was sending a conjured blade or wind blade at them, or jumping after the foe with sword at the ready. It was a stalemate, neither side able to keep their advantage for more than a couple of seconds.

The boy's bone-sword was tossed to his Servant, a regular katana forming and taking its place, his Servant slashing the half broken sword in his hands at his counterpart, the wave accompanying it blocked by the Fae blade while the katana shattered into prana. The bone-sword was caught, an unnoticeable flinch passing through the Second Saber's body, then the Swordsman began to truly fight.

A slash upwards sent the Sword of Promised Victory careening up, still held in hand though almost lost, a second attack drawing first blood with a light cut across the King's face. A third slice blocked back by the recovered King, a clang like steel on steel resounding throughout the battlefield, then a stab glanced off the King's armor, a building collapsing behind her from the compressed air. Sparks flew as the two Servants battled, bone against steel, each Saber gong increasingly faster until they were nothing more than blurs to even their Masters.

It became apparent to both Servants that the Second Saber held the advantage, twin remains of the 4th War's Beast darting around the Holy Sword, striking and blocking against the First Saber. A spin, and the Fae blade was knocked aside, the King's eyes widening in shock before it was replaced by pain, the right bone sticking out of her chest, blood slowly leaking out of the wound. The sword was withdrawn, the left blade aiming to cut across the Knight King's eye, the blow dodged with an inch to spare.

The King of Knights let the air that covered her sword to dissipate, letting the hurricane fly into the Swordsman and everything behind him indiscriminately. The man flew, flipping multiple times before landing back upon the ground, instantly set upon by the Knight King again, the golden sword shown to the world again. The ground cratered underneath them with each exchange of blows, a somewhat content smile appearing on the Second Saber's face.

They both leapt apart, the right bone-sword thrown back to its original Master, and took a similar stance, sword raised above their head with both hands on the grip. Golden light gathered around the First Saber and her sword, the Second Saber accompanied only by a hollow wind, at almost the same time they brought down their swords. "Excalibur!"

A golden wave of light in a crescent spilled from the Holy Sword clashing against the compressed wind of the Bone-Blade, each at a standstill. There was an explosion, neither able to overcome the other despite the power behind the blows, a large smokescreen billowing out from the impact area. The smoke cleared, a trench and abyss marking where the two attacks had passed through, both Servants looking shocked that their Noble Phantasm hadn't won the exchange.

In another part of the vacant lot, the two Masters dueled one another, the First's sending blade after blade of wind at the Second, countered by conjured blade after conjured blade that broke on contact with each blade of wind. Each sword was thrown on creation at the wind blades, both dissipating into prana visible to the naked eye, making a shower of glittering multi-colored dust fall where the two attacks connected.

The bone-sword came flying from the Servants' battle, with a twirl the Ancestor Killer caught his blade, bringing the bone down with a similar smile to his Servant. The Vice-Director leapt to the side, watching with a blank look as the wave came, followed by the trench and the building behind her gaining a cut halfway through the structure. Her eyes flickered back to the boy, eyes widening as he was only two meters from her, his half-lidded stare and content smile oddly frightening.

Faster than even she could see the bone was slicing through her flesh, a cough of blood coming from her mouth, then another slash barely missing her neck, and another attack, a stab through the abdomen. The mithril gauntlet blocked two of the next strikes, furrows appearing in the strong metal, three more drawing blood across her chest, back and left arm. The bone was spun to be held in a reverse-grip then thrust to impale her in the heart.

A splash of blood joined the red liquid upon the ground, followed by the body of Lorelei Barthomeloi sliding back, still breathing with a hole just to the left of her heart, a stab through her left lung. Another strike forcibly closed her right eye, a thin vertical line just a centimeter from the center of her eye, a kick sent her skidding backwards, gauntleted hand covering her eye for a moment. A snarl worked its way on her face, the hand dropping from her face and sending a barrage of wind blades at the Master of the Second Saber, each blocked by the blade even as the remains bored cuts into his skin.

The Second Saber kept attacking with a frenzy unsuited to the once-calm warrior, each of his blows drawing trivial amounts of blood, slash after slash ripping through armor and flesh. The sword prepared to stab through the King's chest, his opponent's blade moving to deflect the blow. The sword was too late, the blade plunged into the King's body then stopped, tip just shy of reaching her heart. She leapt back while the Greatest Swordsman stood as still as a statue, green eyes dull and lifeless, the Disease had claimed him again, at least this time he had passed his title onto another, and with that, Mitsu passed on into the Void.

With a spin Shirou slashed horizontally, the gauntlet moving to defend against the attack. A shattering of metal was heard followed by a spray of blood, the Vice-Director fell to the ground, her arm sliced off directly beside her amidst pieces of mithril, blood pooling under her even as she attempted to stand again. Shirou walked over, his normal apathetic look in place and bone raised high, the blow stopped just a second before it would have connected by a holy sword. Glancing to the left revealed the First Saber, breathing heavily with several wounds scattered around her body, looking past her showed the Second Saber, slowly dissipating into Prana.

The Ancestor Killer leapt back, face still blank while looking at the pair in front of him. "… I shall not fail… I can not fail… For if I do… Ilya-nee… Sakura… Caren… None of them can be brought back…" His left hand rose, prana manifesting and creating the desired shape, a perfect replica of his sword appearing in his hand, eyes closing for a brief moment. The Saber charged forward intent on winning the fight and War, the bone sword was raised in response, then another exchange began between the Servant and once-Master.

Bone rang against steel once more, each side no closer to winning than during the first exchanges of the battle a minute earlier. It changed when the blade Excalibur took off the boy's right arm and sleeve, a spray of blood and ripped fabric accompanying the arm and blade. Rather than flinch or retreat, the boy continued his assault, bone-sword drawing blood from the King's wrist then her other wrist, allowing the Holy Sword to be dropped. A flick up sent the bone into the other sword, a kick embedding the sword within its own wielder, a look of shock and surprise on her face as she began fading away, faintly noticing the three red tears moving from his left eye.

The conjured bone-blade shattered, with a drunken-like grace the boy walked over to his arm, prying his beloved blade from the severed limb. He staggered past the Vice-Director, intent on reaching the Grail that formed just within the halls ahead. His sword hung loosely from his hand, scraping against the ground, the red life-liquid dripping from where he lost his right arm and the hundreds of wounds criss-crossing his flesh, then he turned around the corner and caught sight of three things.

The first was that of the boy from ten years ago sitting atop a pillar with a single leg hanging, long violet hair kept together only by the black bow, still looking from behind his blindfold, the boy's eyes slightly widening at his current state behind the cloth. The Second was the Saber from the last War, and this War's Ruler, pure white skin making up his right side while the left was black with red and violet veins, still wearing the brown cloak that hid the majority of his body while having discarded the bandages that covered the curses willing taken. The Third was the Grail, the golden relic that shone with radiance, the relic that would grant him his wish.

He walked up to the Grail, placing the sword above the grail similar to how the Remnant had ten years prior. "Holy Grail, I give you my wish… Grant life back to Sakura Matou, Caren Hortensia, and Illyasviel Emiya… turn back the clock to when they were alive and well." Then the boy collapsed to the ground, breathing lightly as he slowly fell to the side, a smile growing on the dying teen's face as the bone clattered against the stone as it slipped through his fingers. His breathing stilled, yet the Grail did not light up the room with its radiance while fulfilling his wish, instead it remained inert not being able to accomplish a wish the boy didn't know how to complete. The 'Master' then watched as the Ruler walked forward to where the boy had stood mere seconds before, looking softly to the side at the corpse with warmth in both eyes before focusing on the Grail.

"Holy Grail. I present the winner of your war, and his wish. Though his wish can never be performed by himself, I will ask it in his stead. Bring life back to those he named as they were before their passing." This time the Grail provided a reaction, slowly lighting the room up in an ever-brighter gold as the prana contained within grew greater and greater before being unleashed, the wish granted both the Grail and the prana remaining slowly fading away. The Servant lingered for a short while longer, kneeling down beside the dead teen and gently sliding the white hand over the boy's face, not saying a word as he dispersed into motes of violet and black.

The Grail War ended with one last death.

_He carved through flesh and metal, wood and bone. He kept searching for one to pass on his dream to, to keep his legacy alive. None of them were worthy of the dream, both they and he knew that, they also knew that the man had little time left._

_Mitsu was in a frenzy, swords drawing blood with each strike, his own blood leaked from his mouth while a single bloody tear streamed down from his left eye. Without warning he stopped, just barely avoiding killing another of the Endakai, his weapons remained clutched in his hands as he stood like a statue._

_The Endakai surrounding him bowed their heads, moving off to repent against the sins they were forced to commit by the rest of the world, the moons above falling down. They welcomed Death with open arms, happy to be absolved of the crime the other nations forced upon them, their blessing coming when the world died along with them._

_Four days after end of the 5th War-_

She hadn't immediately left like the other Magi from the Clocktower, she had one last thing to do before she could leave, and that was speaking a final time with the only Human capable of besting her in a battle. Her opponent may be dead, but that didn't mean she couldn't give her words to his grave, which is one of the two reasons she had remained, the other being… a result of her last encounter with the boy, namely taking care of her severe injuries. She had opted to get a strip of white cloth to cover her missing right arm, roughly shaped into the form of a half-cloak so that she wouldn't have to deal with the lesser Magi in the Clocktower incessantly questioning her on how she had lost the limb.

Striding up the pathway towards the church, she didn't bat an eye at the white-haired girl walking past still gripped by grief, nor of the man accompanying her that gave only a small nod of acknowledgement, they wouldn't want her empty words. Passing tombstone after tombstone, scanning the names for only those of importance and briefly stopping only once to look at the grave of the last Tohsaka before moving on, eventually finding the grave she searched for by its lonesome next to a tree. Silence passed by the minutes as she simply stood in front of the grave marked simply as _Shirou_, a light wind brushing along her allowing her make-shift cloak rustle softly before she finally began.

"Ancestor-killer, two years ago you took my prey from me, murdered the monster in front of my sight and had it not been for the remainder of her brood to attempt fleeing away from us, I would have fought you then and there. Shortly before the last of the Dead were destroyed you disappeared, leaving my anger to boil and a grudge to fester until this War began, yet my grudge will remain unfulfilled." Her remaining hand tightened in barely restrained rage, blood welling around the palm as her nails dug into the skin, a calming breathe taken to ease her anger succeeding only slightly as she continued on speaking. "Not only will my grudge remain incomplete, but you beat me in combat, even when your Servant expired before my own, so despite my rage at you beating me and taking my prey, I admit to you being the better warrior."

Another wind blew through the cemetery, gliding along the grass and past Lorelei as she stared at the grave, her eyes blinking once slowly before she began turning to leave, a pause taken to say one final thing to the corpse. "Though I acknowledge you as my better in combat, I will continue to hate your being and carry my grudge until death. Goodbye Shirou of the Emiya clan, may we never meet again." The cloth rustled again as she completed her turn, not bothering to acknowledge the priestess as she passed by her on the walk back, her task done she made her way out of the cemetery and church, continuing on back to the Hyatt Hotel to prepare for her departure the next day. Little thought was given to what awaited her back in London, she was well aware of what the bickering nobles would tell her for her actions during the War, not even mentioning the Church if they wished to push the issue with the various Nobles. A low sigh left her mouth at the single thought, already imagining the headache that awaited her but resigned to the fate, once again she would have to play to traditions and rules simply for her family pride, but that was more than worth the annoyance of this event.

Class: **Saber**

Master: Shirou 'Emiya'

Name: Mitsu

Title(s): He Who Cut the Mountains, the Greatest Swordsman

Gender: Male

Alignment: True Neutral

_Stats-_

Strength: A-

Endurance: B+

Agility: A+

Mana: E

Luck: D-

Noble Phantasms: A

_Class Skills-_

Magic Resistance: -, skill has been lost due to no interactions with Magic and a natural avoidance of the art.

_There was never a time he was struck by magic, moving out of the way before they came close to harming him._

Riding: -, Skill has been lost due to never having ridden any vehicle or mount.

_Never did he ever ride, preferring to walk beside his King and brother upon the ground._

_Personal Skills-_

Prana Burst D (A): (This ability is used in an incomplete manner and utilized alongside Reinforcement to the point of near breaking a weapon [Treated as several ranks down due to haphazard technique and breaking of most weapons used in such a manner])

_He abhorred the usage of magic, yet even he knew that mana flowed through his veins and sought to make use of it, imbuing the swords he carelessly wielded with enough magic to tear them apart if they were held for too long._

Bravery: A, Bonus effect of increasing melee damage

_Not once did he retreat, not once did he falter, to do so would mean he would never obtain his wish and desire._

_Noble Phantasms-_

The Greatest Swordsman, Unsurpassed Skill: A, there was none amongst Dreaas that could best him in weaponcraft, most notably swords. Has the same effect as Reinforcement and Prana Burst when using a drawn weapon, while only giving Reinforcement when using a sheathed weapon. Durability of weapons goes down considerably while being drawn and often will be broken after only two attacks excepting those with increased durability. If enough prana is put in the blade then an attack will travel as an near-invisible wave until it hits something or dissipates, most often utilizing it in this way will instantly destroy the weapon after the attack is loosed.

_He trained for years, dedicating his life to surpassing all in the ways of the sword until he became the greatest, becoming hollow and purposeless the moment he accomplished his desire._

The Unknown Disease, the End of a Legend: E, the death of Mitsu was expected, the way he died wasn't. Instead of dying as a warrior, he was brought low by a simple disease. During the War he has a limited time amongst the Servants, having 2 weeks and six days, at most, to fight from the moment he is summoned.

_He fought against the Endakai, and at its climax he simply collapsed, the disease taking his life before he could accomplish his dream, that of finding one to pass his title onto through their killing of him._

Class: Saber, **Berserker**

Master: Illyasviel von Einzbern (Ilya Emiya)

Name: Kodomo

Title(s): the Child-king, Bloody Angel, the Monster that Protects

Gender: Male

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

_Stats-_

Strength: B-

Endurance: B

Agility: A-

Mana: C+

Luck: A

Noble Phantasms: A-

_Class Skills-_

Mad Enhancement: D, Strength and Endurance parameters are up.

_Within the fractured mind of the Child-king lies a great madness, forsaking himself and his sanity to protect those he loves._

_Personal Skills-_

Magic Resistance: B, Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by High-Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals, it is difficult for him to be affected. Due to 'Mad Mens' Desires, Light of the Insane Child' Kodomo is affected by Shadow and Darkness spells and abilities doubly and Magic Resistance has no effect on them.

_His body made from light could handle all but the Dark, so it was that his Shadow became his shield._

Battle Continuation: A, Makes possible to fight even with deadly injuries and can remain alive so long as one does not receive a decisive fatal wound.

_His body was littered with wounds, yet still he fought on, for his life held no meaning in his mind, and none were able to persuade him otherwise._

Mental Pollution: C+

_He was tortured within the labs of the Mad Men for months when he was but a child, he lost his ability to grow up because of them, though he paid them back when he lead the Escape._

Charisma: B, Suitable for a king of a country.

_He gathered together the Outcasts of the World, bringing them together and embracing them as family, so he did for his Fiancé and her Family as well, always playing with his little siblings and Fiancé, and never once asking for anything more than if they would enjoy being family._

Pioneer of the Stars: EX

_He challenged the God of the Dead when his siblings died, accepting his challenge and succeeding in bringing them back, he bested the Twin God(dess)s in their game of Order and Chaos, He rewrote the strands of Fate to their original course multiple times, and earned the Firstborn's approval and entry into the place denied to all Humanity two days before he and the world perished._

Divinity: B-

_Within his veins flowed the magic of the First God, a proclamation that showed Dreaas Kodomo would rise above all others and die shortly after to rest alongside the First God in his Tomb._

_Noble Phantasms-_

Mad Mens' Desires, Light of the Insane Child: B-, the 'gift' given by those that had imprisoned Kodomo in his youth, his entire body is fundamentally made from light instead of flesh and blood. While it makes Kodomo immune to several forms of magic, including Blood, Light and Bone magics, it has the adverse effect of making him vulnerable to Dark and Banishing magics.

_They turned his flesh, blood and bones to light, then turned it back, they kept experimenting upon the boy until he snapped and broke free from his shackles._

Iro, My Brother and Shadow: A-, the being that resides as the Child-king's shadow. Iro is always summoned and can become a humanoid figure made from shadow that obtains skills similar to Kodomo's (Divinity, Battle Continuation, Mental Pollution, and Magic Resistance [except to Light and Banishment]). 'Killing' Iro causes Kodomo to activate Mad Enhancement and refuse most orders from master, including an order enforced by a single Command Seal.

_Iro lost his entire body to the Mad Men, he earned retribution because of Kodomo and found purpose alongside another becoming the first sibling of the Insane Child._

Unknown Knife, that which made Everything Mortal: B, A Noble Phantasm taking the shape of a butcher's knife with a blurry cloud-like pattern along the metal, while its origins are unknown even to its wielder, the Child-King has used it since the beginning of his journey to the very end ensuring his own demise. Its abilities were assumed to come from the first victim it claimed, the twin brother of Kodomo, who was rapidly dissolving into dust. The nature of the weapon is highly effective against beings that are spirits, elementals or animated constructs as it forcibly makes the target into a living creature for as long as the blade touches their form. Also has the effect of removing all forms of Magic Resistance and Regeneration from the target for three minutes after an attack has landed (Does not stack with multiple wounds, merely refreshing the timer.)

_The Child-King looked out over the army meant to kill them, then back at his family before smiling and taking out his beloved knife, plunging the weapon into his leg and leaving it there, crimson liquid dripping down to the ground before he skipped away into the hell to come._

The 'Mask' of Insanity, Delusions of the Child: E, The reflection of being one of those that held the being who created Dreaas main concepts and emotions. Kodomo was created with the intention of anchoring the being's reality by placing all of the being's insanity inside a single person. The 'Mask' merely dictates what emotion/concept the person holds and experiences most often, the only time a 'Mask' was known to reject their concept was when Kodomo lost three of his family to Death, becoming apathetic to everything and giving no meaning to his own life.

_His mind broke, and yet the child that made Dreaas poured his insanity into a single being, hoping that they would forgive him for the deed._

Class: **Caster**, Berserker

Master: Sakura Matou

Name: Usagi

Title(s): Keeper of Rabbits, the Rabbit of Ice and Fire

Gender: Female

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral/Neutral Evil

_Stats-_

Strength: C-

Endurance: B-

Agility: D+

Mana: A+ (EX)

Luck: D

Noble Phantasms: A

_Class Skills-_

Territory Creation: B, creation of a 'Workshop' becomes possible.

_Within the glade filled with sunlight, the girl made of fire and ice tended the rabbits, that was her home and only those she allowed would remain alive in her domain._

Item Construction: E-, beyond animating and giving sentience to simple puppets, cannot make Mystic codes or any form of Magical instrument.

_She made the two puppets to be her voices, rather than let others hear her own voice, the puppets took on a life of their own and essentially became their own beings._

_Personal Skills-_

Divinity: E-, was hailed as a patron of rabbits despite being a Mortal.

_Usagi was mortal, yet was hailed as a deity, the Gods and Goddesses did not mind, and she did not care to change the people's minds._

Magecraft: B, capable of utilizing many different forms of Fire and Ice magics

_She was a being that merely performed magics to defend those that lived in her domain, using Fire and Ice to leave no trace of invaders. _

Nature of a Rebellious Spirit: A

_Never did she know of any kings which caught her interest, nor did she deign herself a queen, instead merely resigning to living a life of isolation and wandering._

_Noble Phantasms-_

Lea and Ael, the Voices of the Keeper: E (A), two rabbit puppets that act as Usagi's voices when required. Both are key to unlocking the massive wells of mana available to her along with showing their true form and her own.

_The crying black puppet and the giggling white puppet, once upon a time a rabbit of fire and rabbit of ice, given human emotions at the expense of their Mistress's own, they were friends to the Keeper, they were what kept her tied to reality, all were monsters in the eyes of man._

Class: **Archer**

Master: Kishur Zeltrech Schweinorg

Name: Alleyne

Title(s): The First Hero of the Second Age, the First Outcast.

Gender: Female

Alignment: True Neutral

_Stats-_

Strength: D

Endurance: C-

Agility: B+

Mana: E

Luck: C

Noble Phantasms:

_Class Skills-_

Magic Resistance: -

_Beyond her artifact, she never encountered a magic-user, many merely rediscovering magic from the First Age after its untimely end at the hands of Humanity._

Independent Action: EX

_She was unlike her people who toiled in the farms underground, she was a loner and a mercenary, she was an Outcast of her own accord, an adventurer and Hero._

_Personal Skills-_

Collector: D

_Alleyne was known to obtain any and all firearms through any means so long as they fit within the description of a musket._

_Noble Phantasms-_

Deanil, the Vault of Muskets: B, a small pure-black Dodecahedron found at her left hip, it is an item that was known to hold any item or object within it in a stasis-like state. The most notable usage of its functions was the holding of hundreds of muskets and releasing them to perform a barrage on enemies, though this was used only in battles where enemies had overwhelmingly numerical superiority.

_Her hand danced along the surface of the artifact, the sky behind her suddenly filled with innumerable muskets, two fell into her hands and the vault's contents made their mark once more._

Class: **Lancer**, Berserker

Master: Caren Hortensia

Name: Ningyō

Title(s): the Child Demon, Demon-Construct

Gender: Male?

Alignment: True Neutral

_Stats-_

Strength: A

Endurance: A

Agility: A-

Mana: B

Luck: D-

Noble Phantasms:

_Class Skills-_

Magic Resistance: B, Cancel spells with a chant below three verses. Even if targeted by _High-Thaumaturgy_ and _Greater Rituals_, it is difficult for him to be affected.

_It was unknown if he was a construct or a demon, even those amongst the realm of Lucifer and the lands of the Magitates did not know where he came from or what he was._

Battle Continuation: A, Makes possible to fight even with deadly injuries and can remain alive so long as one does not receive a decisive fatal wound.

_The… thing, would not bleed, no matter how many wounds were put on it, no matter the amount in weapons embedded in it, it simply would not die._

_Personal Skills-_

N/A

_Noble Phantasms-_

Uncertain Origins, the Mystery of the Demon-Construct: E, The stories told about Ningyō were often in the realm of wild fantasies even by Dreaas's standards. Every story told contradicted another until nothing was certain about the being known as Ningyō. The only effect of this phantasm is the randomization of his stats when seen by another, even if his name is known. This Noble Phantasm is always active and cannot be revealed except at the Master's discretion.

_It didn't know what it was, nor did anyone else understand it either, it simply was and nothing could be known for certain, only the Gods knew and they were busy doing as they wished, as befitted their nature as chaotic beings._

Class: **Assassin**, Saber

Master: N/A

Name: Unknown

Title(s): Executioner of Ghost Hill

Gender: Male

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

_Stats-_

Strength: C

Endurance: C

Agility: C-

Mana: D

Luck: E

Noble Phantasms: B

_Class Skills-_

Presence Concealment: A+, It is possible to disappear completely and become almost impossible to be detected. However, efficiency will decrease once preparations to attack are taken.

_Within the ruins of his home none were able to find him, often dying without realizing they had been assailed._

_Personal Skills-_

Independent Action: EX

_He refused to pass on into the Realm of Necropolis, trapping himself and those he slaughtered within their old homes, waiting to right a wrong of equal magnitude to the one he caused years before._

_Noble Phantasms-_

Ghost Hill: B, a Reality Marble of his home and haunting place, it is a simple town with an executioner's platform in the middle of the town square. While within the Marble, Assassin gains one rank in all stats barring Noble Phantasm, Luck and Mana. Assassin can only use this Noble Phantasm with the aid of a Command Seal.

_He was forced to kill people he knew every day upon the platform, eventually snapping when he was forced to kill his beloved wife, he killed all that were sent to stop him, and impaled himself upon his swords once all were gone beyond himself. That place was haunted forever since._

Class: **Rider,** Saber

Master: Luviagelita Edelfelt (Luvia Edelfelt)

Name: Kizoku

Title(s): 4th seat Noble of Ronde, Commander of the 1st and 2nd Legions

Gender: Male

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

_Stats-_

Strength: B-

Endurance: B-

Agility: B+

Mana: C+

Luck: E+

Noble Phantasms: A

_Class Skills-_

Riding: A, All creatures but those of_ Phantasmal Beast_ and _Divine Beast_ can be used as mounts. This rank is high enough to have aptitude for the Rider Class.

_First and foremost he was a knight, having charged across the battlefield atop various mounts and piloted the mystical airships his nation was known for._

Magic Resistance: D, Cancel _Single-Action_ spells. Magic Resistance of the same degree of an amulet that rejects magical energy.

_He knew little of the arts of magic, the closest he had ever witnessed was the Child-King's light and that could not be counted upon as true magic._

_Personal Skills-_

Bravery: A+, Bonus effect of increasing melee damage.

_He knew he would die, yet it was his duty to continue on regardless, and so he went forth and fought until his body stilled._

Charisma: E, Leadership skills increase, but the morale of troops decreases extremely

_They knew they would die, and so he spurred them on citing only one short speech before he left them. "We are damned, attacking the ones we sheltered for years or disobeying orders from the high Nobles. I do not wish upon any of you this curse so leave if you wish, I understand. I cannot shirk from my duty so regardless if you all stay or all leave I will go forward, and I shall continue until my life leaves me."_

_Noble Phantasms-_

Bound by Duty, Twin Legions marked by Grief: A, During his life Rider was given command of two armies, each roughly around 10,000 men at their lowest, armed with swords, spears, shields and crossbows. Invoking this Noble Phantasm is used only as a last resort as doing so will eat through prana at a fast pace, even with his Master supplying prana or utilizing a command seal. This Noble Phantasm acts as a Reality Marble similar to Iskandar's, though in the case of a Reality Marble already being up prana usage decreases by half. The Reality Marble invoked is a simple plain with grass colored black and white.

_Not a single man or woman deserted him, their armor of cobalt and weapons of blackened steel and ash-touched wood prepared to face their last enemy, no cheers rose from their ranks, no warcries or shouts, only silence as they took upon themselves the cursed task placed on their Commander._

Damudo no jūden-ki, Cursed Horse of Impending Death: B-, An incorporeal horse holding no meaning of existence or death, those it appeared to and allowed to ride upon its back died the day they came in contact with it. This Phantasm is invoked independent of its wielder's wishes, and will only appear on the day he is destined to die. Invoking the Phantasm guarantees the wielder's death, either by battle or through an 'accident' of some manner, with the only exceptions being applied to those with A-rank Luck or higher.

_He wasn't surprised to see a horse that never was meant to exist and yet did, he knew of the legends surrounding the creature and knew whatever he did, he was to die this day._

Class: **Ruler**, Saber, Caster, Berserker

Master: Blackwing (Harry Potter), Holy Grail

Name: Unknown

Title(s): Remnant of Nothing, First God of Dreaas

Gender: Unknown (Referred as a He)

Alignment: Neutral

_Stats_-

Strength: B- (A+)

Endurance: C+ (A+)

Agility: B+ (B)

Mana: EX

Luck: A- (E-)

Noble Phantasms: B (EX)

_Class Skills-_

Magic Resistance: A (EX), Cancel spells of A-Rank or below. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi, so it would not be an exaggeration to title the Servant a "Magus Killer".

_He was known to have introduced Magic to Dreaas alongside creating it from nothing, while the armor he wore nullified it completely when it formed._

True Name Discernment: B (EX), (When encountering one from Dreaas, Remnant will automatically know the Servant despite any capacity to hide one's identity)

_While he dreamed he saw and knew all among his Origin's beloved world, he watched them with a smile, never able to see his children in person._

God's Resolution: A (Unused due to wanting to merely observe alongside Blackwing)

_He was merely an Observer, he had no wish to interfere if it did not concern him, his children, his friends or his home._

_Personal Skills-_

Independent Action: A+, Servant can remain in this world indefinitely even without a Master. However, in order to activate his Noble Phantasm, it is necessary to first acquire an extra supply of prana from alternative sources.

_He knew no master, nor bowed to any, neither Mortal King nor Alaya and Gaia held any sway over his actions nor that of Dreaas._

Territory Creation: EX (-),

_Known as the creator of Dreaas as well as the six dimensions connected to it, Remnant made his world from dust and thought, also making the area were his tomb would belong which only the Second God and himself are able to access._

Mad Enhancement: – (B), Rank up for all parameters, but takes away most of sanity.

_Within the armor made from Its Madness, he reminded them why he held the maddening beast within his soul._

Battle Continuation: A (A+), Makes possible to fight even with deadly injuries and can remain alive so long as one does not receive a decisive fatal wound.

_His body once held no heart, a left arm, his chest and the left side of his head, no blood flowed through his body, now they are taken up by the Curses of Angra Mainyu and still no blood flows, he is merely a shell._

Charisma: A (-), Can be said to have achieved the greatest level of popularity as a human being.

_He created them and loved them as his children, even when he was struck by them he still loved them and would not strike them back, they loved him as their Father and would follow him no matter the reason._

Divinity: EX

_He was hailed as the First God, the creator of Dreaas, and the one that tamed the Maddening Beast, He is revered by those among Dreaas and the realms connecting to it as Fate, Origin, Void, and Madness._

Ultimate One: - (EX), While on Gaia receives no bonus, when within Dreaas will gain full effects.

_He created that place, It gave him its power to repay its eternal debt for existence._

_Noble Phantasms-_

Sword made from Memory, Reum: D, a silver steel broad sword, the blade is a culmination of every beings' history from the world Dreaas. While not having any specific powers or abilities the sword is unbreakable except to Anti-World or higher Noble Phantasms, Not usable while 'Armor of Madness, Nedetes' is active.

_It held the memories of the being he once was, alongside all those that inhabited the world Dreaas, making it the perfect library of the world._

Armor of Madness, Nedetes: B, a suit of armor made of overlapping plates of metal, the armor is a mixture of white and black being completely random in the 'texture' of the scheme. This armor can only be summoned when enraged and replaces Remnant's body when formed, granting Mad Enhancement (B), Battle Continuation (A+), Magic Resistance (EX), and boosting Strength and Endurance to (A+). Removes Charisma and Territory Creation, alongside bringing Agility down one rank and Luck to (E-).

_The armor that came into being when the beast was merged with the Remnant, It was never once broken and the sight caused all of his children to know to stay away._

Blade of Light, Kodomo: B-, a pure-black sword named in honor of the Child-king of Dreaas, most forms of light are able to be manipulated while wielding the blade. Only usable when 'Armor of Madness, Nedetes' is active, Replaces 'Sword made from Memory, Reum'.

_The Child-king was amongst the greatest of the Remnant's children, rivaling and challenging the Gods and Goddesses numerous times over his brief life of 15 years, Remnant created this sword alongside the Second God to cement the Boy's legend._

Blade of Darkness, Iro: B-, a pure-white sword named in honor of the Child-king's Shadow and first brother, most forms of darkness are able to be manipulated while wielding the blade. Only usable when 'Armor of Madness, Nedetes' is active, Replaces 'Sword made from Memory, Reum'.

_The Denizen of Darkness was little known and mainly a rumor, he would always make the Child-king laugh and play despite not saying a word, He died alongside his brother shielding his body from further weapons, Remnant created this sword alongside the Second God to cement the Being's legend._

Maddening Beast of Nothing, Nesaia: EX, a creature that Remnant bound to his soul, it threatened to destroy Dreaas during its beginning years were it not for the Remnant. The Beast takes the form of a ball of chains when first summoned. Gradually the Beast will free itself from the chains, starting with its arms then its head. The Beast itself is pure white with clawed hands and a faceless head that is only broken when the beast opens a spiked mouth. This Phantasm is only usable when 'Armor of Madness, Nedetes' is in use.

_The Beast and God fought for months, neither gaining an advantage, then the Remnant's children came to his aid, and the Beast was imprisoned within soul of the First God._

Dreaas, My World of Dreams: EX, The manifestation of the being that was to become Remnant's dreams and thoughts, this Noble Phantasm is a Realty Marble that encompasses three ages and seven dimensions that all connect to the world Dreaas. When active any being/creature/place/group/nation is able to be summoned from Dreaas's history and lore, ranging from men of metal to creatures of death and undeath to angels, demons and fallen. This Phantasm is unable to be used in conjunction with the 'Maddening Beast of Nothing, Nesaia'.

_That place where the trees are made from crystal and stone, where the grass is black as night and white as snow, the sky is red with a shattered moon and two others, that place where a young boy wandered in his youth, creating a world for his Children and their Children._

The Last 'Mask', a Child's Fate: E, the reflection of being a fragment of the being who created Dreaas. The Remnant was the last 'Mask' to be 'born', coming into being from the child's body and embodying the concept of Nothing. While normally only dictating what concept/emotion an individual feels, due to 'possessing' the body of the child he was 'born' of, he is able to feel slight amounts of happiness and sadness.

_The child's body faded to Dreaas, the eyes opened but the boy was gone, the Remnant woke up and proceeded to create the world the child envisioned._

The Curses of Angra Mainyu, One last Sacrifice: A, during the 4th Holy Grail War, the Remnant used his wish to become the container of 'All the World's Evil'. Doing so has granted him the lost portions of his body along with the abilities of every evil known to Man or Gods. While he will occasionally unveil his recovered body parts, the curses are bound tightly and are not allowed to be utilized in any form.

_He was a fragment, he knew however what his Origin and Father would have wanted, and so made his choice._

_AN: Hope you enjoyed this story, this marks the end of the main story, though there still is the interactions left to do. If any of you who have read this story wish for any particular interaction to take place, as I said earlier, I shall attempt my best to bring that scene to life. I will say that that this is my second and last story upon this wonderful place, I'll be working on another project of mine once I've finished this fully, so until that point I'm here to stay._

_Goodnight and Goodbye. Happy Dreams._

_**Edit: As of 4/16/16 The first set of interactions have been added. Grammar has been addressed across the chapters.**_


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